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Malone Overcomes Second-Half Indiana Wesleyan Rally To Knock Off Ninth-Ranked Wildcats, 68-59

The Malone University men’s basketball team registered a 68-59 upset victory at home over NAIA Division II No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon after holding off a strong Wildcat comeback attempt.  The win improved Malone’s overall record to 2-2 on the season while Indiana Wesleyan dropped to 5-2. 

The Pioneers led by as many as 16 points early in the second half before IWU clawed back, outscoring Malone 28-10 over a ten-minute stretch of the final stanza to take its first lead of the game at 48-46 with 6:24 to play.  The Wildcat advantage was short lived, however, as the Pioneers immediately answered with a 13-2 scoring run of their own that put the hosts back in front by nine, at 59-50, with 90 seconds remaining.  IWU would pull to within four after hitting a three-pointer in the final minute but the Pioneers were able to cement the win by connecting on nine of their final 10 free throws.

IWU entered the contest having hit 50.6% of its shot attempts through its first six games but Malone’s defense stymied the Wildcats during the first 20 minutes of play as the Pioneers went to the locker room at intermission with a 30-17 lead after allowing the visitors to make just seven of their 27 (25.9%) shots from the floor in the opening stanza.  Indiana Wesleyan then found some offensive rhythm in the second half, hitting 15 of 33 (45.5%) field goal attempts to end the game with an overall shooting percentage of 36.7% (22 of 60).  IWU held a 36-31 advantage in total rebounds but hit just two of 12 (16.7%) three-pointers and 13 of 20 (65.0%) free throws.

The Pioneers shot 51.2% (21 of41) from the floor, 36.4% (4 of 11) from behind the three-point arc, and 78.6% (22 of 28) from the free-throw line, marking the third consecutive game that Malone has made at least half of its field goal tries.

Junior forward Nick Watts (Holland, MI) and sophomore guard Eric Coblentz (Lake H.S.) paced a balanced Malone attack with 14 points apiece.  Senior guard Jeremy Duerr (Lake H.S.) followed with 11 points, two steals and two assists.  Junior guard Kyle Higgins (Columbus West H.S.) tossed in 10 points and grabbed five rebounds while junior forward Vaso Aleksic (Bar, Montenegro) came off the bench to tally eight points and six boards.

Forward Zach Coverstone tallied a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead IWU.

Malone will return to action on Tuesday night as it looks to knock off another highly-ranked opponent, NAIA Division II No. 6 Walsh University, in the 46th annual Mayors’ Cup game.  Tuesday’s contest will be played at Walsh and is slated to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.  The Cavaliers hold a 60-39 advantage in the all-time series with Malone and have won 20 out of the last 22 overall meetings between the two schools.  In the Mayors’ Cup series, Walsh leads 26-19, having won nine of the last ten Mayors’ Cup contests.  Walsh has retired the Cup four times (i.e. winning three straight Mayors’ Cup games) while Malone has retired the Cup three times.  The game will be broadcast live on WNPQ 95.9 FM and on the internet at www.thelight959.com. 

 

 

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Malone Men’s Cross Country Captures Third Straight NAIA National Title; Women Place Third

The Malone University men’s cross country team, led by veteran head coach Jack Hazen, has captured its third straight NAIA national title (and fourth in school history) at the NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, Washington Saturday while the Pioneer women’s team finished in third place.  With the fourth title for the men, only two other NAIA programs have more men’s national titles than Malone (Adams State, CO with 12 and Lubbock Christian, TX with 8).

The Malone men tallied 44 points, which was the lowest point total for the men’s meet since 1998, among a 32-team field for their national crown to easily win by one of the largest margins in meet history (men’s team results were not available at posting time – Malone site will be update later this evening).  In addition, head coach Jack Hazen earned NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year honors.

The Pioneer women racked up 163 points for their third-place finish among a 32-team field as Cal State-San Marcos took the women’s team title with 137 points.  Biola (CA) University was second with 140 points, Simon Fraser (B.C.) University took fourth with 195 points while Azusa Pacific (CA) University rounded out the top five with 199 points.

For the men, Aaron Melhorn (Jr., Fairless H.S.) paced Malone with a third-place finish overall in a time of 24:36 while James Zeuch (Jr., Galion H.S.) was fifth overall in 25:15.  Paul Robinson (Sr., Field H.S.) finished 11^th in 25:27, Chris Sinick (Sr.,. Field H.S.) came in 12^th in 25:29 and  Evan Gaynor (Sr., Delta H.S.) placed 18^th in  25:39.  All five runners earned NAIA All-America honors by virtue of their Top 30 finishes.  Also competing for Malone were Tony Migliozzi (So., St. Thomas Aquinas H.S.), who finished 47^th (26:03), and Nick Meeson (Fr., Lakewood H.S.), who placed 55^th (26:11).

For the women, Sarah Hines (Sr., Northmor H.S.) led the way with a 29^th-place finish overall in a time of 18:54 to earn the lone All-America honor for the women.  Also scoring for Malone were Rebekah Genter (Sr., Van Wert H.S.) in 38^th (19:11), Erin Bauer (So., Loveland H.S.) in 40^th (19:12), Tynae Wilson (So., Fort Wayne, IN) in 51^st (19:21) and Lindsey Pifher (Jr., Colonel Crawford H.S.) in 64^th (19:29).  Others who competed for the team included Ashton Avery (So., McKinley H.S.) in 76^th (19:38) and Emily Grad (Jr., Field H.S.) in 112^th 19:59).

 

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Late Pioneer Rally Not Quite Enough As Ohio Dominican Edges Malone 58-55

The Malone University women’s basketball team endured a hard-fought 58-55 loss at home to former American Mideast Conference member Ohio Dominican University on Saturday afternoon as the visiting Panthers hung on for the victory after withstanding a 14-2 Pioneer scoring run in the final minutes.  The loss dropped Malone’s record to 2-4 overall while the Panthers, who are currently in transition to becoming members of NCAA Division II, improved to 2-2 on the year.

Ohio Dominican held a 52-41 lead with five minutes to play in Saturday’s contest before Malone stormed back with its offensive surge, pulling ahead 55-54 with 49 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws by junior point guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.).  ODU guard Tenia Scarver answered with a three-pointer on the Panthers’ next trip down the floor, putting the visitors back in front 57-55.  Following a missed Pioneer shot attempt, Ohio Dominican split a pair of free throws to push its advantage to 58-55 with eight ticks remaining on the clock.  Malone quickly headed down the court looking for a game-tying three-pointer but the Pioneers turned the ball over before they could attempt a shot, allowing ODU to escape with the three-point triumph.

Malone held a 29-26 lead at halftime but shot just 21.2% (7 of 33) from the field in the second stanza, finishing the game with an overall shooting percentage of 29.0% (18 of 62).  The Pioneers hit five of 18 (27.8%) three pointers and 14 of 20 free throws (70.0%) in the contest while forcing 16 ODU turnovers.  Ohio Dominican held a 42-39 advantage in total rebounds, made 12 of 16 (75.0%) free throws, and shot 36.5% (19 of 52) from the floor, including 29.6% (8 of 27) from beyond the three-point arc.

In addition to tossing in a game-high 18 points, the 5’5” Wilson also grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds to go with two assists and two steals.  Junior forward Alison Schloz (St. Ursula Academy) followed with 12 points and five rebounds.  Junior guards Ashley Speicher (Plymouth H.S.) and Amy Kittle (Buckeye Trail H.S.) tossed in 10 and eight points, respectively, while sophomore forward Kelly Anatra (Mansfield St. Peter’s H.S.) snagged three steals and dished out four assists.

Scarver came off the bench to lead ODU with 15 points.

The Pioneers will look to bounce back on Tuesday night as they travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to open American Mideast Conference play with a 7:00 p.m. contest against Carlow University (Carlow does not have a regulation-sized gym on its campus so Tuesday's game will be played at nearby Oakland Catholic High School).

 

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Findlay Pulls Away From Pioneers In Second Half

The Malone University men’s basketball team fell on the road to the University of Findlay on Thursday evening as the Oilers, who are currently ranked fourth in NCAA Division II, used a 14-0 scoring run midway through the second half to pull away for an 81-70 victory.  The Pioneers shot 50% (27 of 54) from the field over the course of the evening but also committed a season-high 23 turnovers.  Malone’s record fell to 1-2 with the hard-fought defeat while Findlay, which won the NCAA Division II National Championship last season with a perfect 36-0 record, improved to 2-0 on the season.

 The Pioneers held a 31-28 advantage with four minutes remaining in the first half of Thursday’s contest but the Oilers outscored Malone 10-2 over the remainder of the period to take 38-33 lead into the locker room at intermission.  Findlay then held the Pioneers scoreless for a nearly five-minute stretch early in the second stanza to grab a commanding 61-41 advantage.

21 of the Oilers’ points came at the foul line as the hosts shot 84.0% (21 of 25) from the charity stripe.  Findlay also totaled 16 steals and shot the ball well from the field, hitting 26 of 56 (46.4%) field-goal attempts, including eight of 19 (42.1%) three-pointers.  Malone held a 37-25 advantage in total rebounds while hitting nine of its 25 (36.0%) shots from beyond the three-point arc and seven of its eight (87.5%) tries from the foul line.

Senior forward Mark Young (Jackson H.S.) tossed in 15 points as he made both of his free throw attempts and sank six of seven shots from the field, including the only three-pointer he attempted.  Sophomore guard Eric Coblentz (Lake H.S.) also tallied 15 points with three assists.  Junior guard Kyle Higgins (Columbus West H.S.) followed with 11 points, six rebounds, and two steals.  Junior forward Nick Watts (Holland, MI) added seven points, five rebounds, and three assists while senior guard Jeremy Duerr (Lake H.S.) scored five points and dished out a season-high six assists.

The Pioneers will return to action on Saturday when they face another highly-ranked opponent, NAIA Division II No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan University (5-1 overall).  Tip-off for Saturday’s home contest is slated for 4:00 p.m.  The game will be broadcast live on WNPQ 95.9 FM and on the internet at www.thelight959.com.  Live statistics will also be available on the internet at http://multimedia.malone.edu/athletics/basketball/mens/xlive.htm.

 

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Malone Unable To Overcome First-Half Shooting Struggles In 65-57 Loss To Ohio Valley

The Malone University women’s basketball team suffered a 65-57 non-conference loss in its home opener against NCAA Division II Ohio Valley University on Tuesday evening.  The Pioneers never led in the contest as the hosts trailed 33-22 at halftime after connecting on just four of their 24 (16.7%) shots from the field over the first 20 minutes of play.  Malone’s offense got on track in the second period as the squad used a late 9-0 scoring run to trim a 15-point Fighting Scot advantage to just 56-50 with 3:39 remaining in the contest.  However, the Pioneers were unable to get any closer over the remainder of the game as OVU brought the Malone scoring spurt to an end with a lay-up and then converted on five of six free throws down the stretch to cement the eight-point victory.  The loss dropped the Pioneers’ overall record to 2-3 on the season while Ohio Valley moved to 1-0 with the win in its season opener.

Malone knocked down 10 of 27 (37.0%) field-goal attempts in the second half to end the game with an overall shooting percentage of 27.5% (14 of 51).  Despite their struggles from the field, the Pioneers were red hot from the foul line as the squad sank 27 of 30 (90.0%) free throws.  Ohio Valley converted on 38.1% (24 of 63) of its field-goal tries over the course of the evening, including seven of 23 (30.4%) three-pointers.  Like Malone, the Fighting Scots also took advantage of their trips to charity stripe, converting on 10 of 13 (76.9%) foul shots.  OVU enjoyed a 42-36 advantage in total rebounds and forced 21 Malone turnovers.

Junior guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.) led the way for the Pioneers with a season-high 21 points (6-10 FG, 1-1 3PT FG, 8-10 FT) and 12 rebounds.  Junior guard Amy Kittle (Buckeye Trail H.S.) and sophomore forward Kelly Anatra (Mansfield St. Peter’s H.S.) each followed with 14 points apiece with Anatra also contributing six rebounds and four steals.

Center Kendra Benedict paced Ohio Valley with 27 points (11-17 FG, 5-7 FT), 12 boards, three steals and two blocks.

Malone will look to bounce back on Saturday at home as it faces off with former American Mideast Conference member Ohio Dominican University at 2:00 p.m.  The game will be broadcast live on WNPQ 95.9 FM and on the internet at www.thelight959.com.  Live statistics will also be available on the internet at http://multimedia.malone.edu/athletics/basketball/womens/xlive.htm.