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Men's Basketball

Malone's longest tenured athletic program, men's basketball, has also been one of its most successful through the years.  Led by NAIA Hall of Fame Coach Hal Smith, the men's basketball program has experienced 22 winning seasons in his 25 years at the helm, including two NAIA National Tournament appearances and an NCCAA National Championship in 1996.  The program has a total of three NAIA National Tournament appearances to its credit.  Smith's 485 wins at Malone (thru the 07-08 season) are more than all other Pioneer men's basketball coaches combined and his 659 career coaching victories rank him sixth among active NAIA coaches.  The 07-08 team finished 21-10 overall and won the AMC North Division regular-season championship (7-3 record).
 
  
2008-2009 Malone Men's Basketball
 
 

Latest Headlines

Malone Men's Basketball Undergoes Major Restructuring Under New Head Coach
November 3, 2009
Throughout its 52-year history, the Malone University men’s basketball program has certainly had re-building years before.  But with only four student-athletes from last year’s roster participating on the current 15-man squad, it has indeed been quite a while since a restructuring of this... Read More

Malone University Names Basketball Court After Hal Smith
October 15, 2009
Malone University has officially named its basketball court in Osborne Hall after its former and long-time men’s basketball head coach Hal Smith.  The unveiling of “Hal Smith Court”, complete with his signature roughly one foot by seven feet in size just on the court in front of the... Read More

Hal and Barbara Smith Recognition Dinner Set For October 10
September 21, 2009
The Hal and Barbara Smith Recognition Dinner will be held in conjunction with Malone University Homecoming activities on Saturday, October 10th at 6:00 p.m. in the Malone gymnasium (Osborne Hall).  Reservations may be made at the bottom of the following... Read More

Mike Brown Hired As Assistant Coach For Malone University Men’s Basketball
September 18, 2009
Mike Brown will join the Malone University men’s basketball staff as an assistant, Pioneer head coach Tim Walker announced today.  Brown, a native of Canton and graduate of McKinley High School, spent the last two seasons as the head coach of Heritage Christian School and is currently... Read More

Men's Basketball Signs Eight Athletes
July 6, 2009
The Malone University men’s basketball team, led by first-year head coach Tim Walker, has recently signed eight student-athletes, five of whom are local, who have committed to attend Malone this fall and play basketball for the Pioneers. Eric Coblentz (Lake H.S.), Colton Hostetler... Read More



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Latest Recaps

Daemen Edges Malone, 69-68

February 21, 2009
The Malone University men’s basketball team suffered a narrow 69-68 American Mideast Conference defeat at home to Daemen (NY) College on Saturday night in its season finale.  The Pioneers trailed the tightly-contested match-up 68-63 with twenty seconds to play before an offensive rebound and put back by center Ted Lawver (Jr. CVCA) trimmed the deficit to three at 68-65.  After a quick Malone foul, the Wildcats split a pair of free throws with 12.8 seconds remaining, pushing their advantage back to four.  Pioneer guard Jeremy Duerr (Jr., Lake H.S.) buried a clutch three-pointer on Malone’s next trip down the floor to pull the hosts to within one.  However, the Wildcats were then able to run the final two seconds off the clock and escape Osborne Hall with the hard-fought 69-68 victory.  With the loss, the Pioneers concluded their 2008-2009 campaign with a final record of 9-20 overall and 5-8 in the AMC.  Daemen, meanwhile, improved to 20-9 overall and 7-6 in the conference.
 
Saturday’s game remained close throughout as Malone’s 23-15 advantage midway through the first half marked the largest lead for either team.  Daemen fought back later in the stanza with a 11-1 run as the two teams went to locker room at intermission with the scored knotted at 35-35.  The Wildcats rattled off six unanswered points midway through the second frame to break a 52-52 tie and then clung to the lead until the final horn sounded.
 
On the evening, Malone connected on 42.4% (28 of 66) of its field goals, 23.5% (four of 17) of its threes, and 72.7% (eight of 11) of its free throws.  Daemen hit 22 of 54 (40.7%) shots from the field, seven of 21 (33.3%) attempts from beyond the three-point arc and 18 of 25 (72.0%) tries from the charity stripe.  Both squads posted nearly identical turnover and rebound totals as the Pioneers pulled down 38 boards and gave up 16 turnovers while the Wildcats tallied 36 rebounds and 15 miscues.  Duerr led the way for Malone with 16 points, four assists, and three steals.  Lawver followed with 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.  Forward Jock Rottman (So., Triway H.S.) registered 12 points, guard Mike Kaisk (Fr., Akron Springfield H.S.) tallied eight points and six boards while forward Taurean Dailey (Sr., McKinley H.S.) notched six points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
 
Prior to competing in their final collegiate game, Dailey, Lawver, guard Zach Fanning (Sr., Garaway H.S.), and forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Sr., Lake H.S.) were each recognized for their outstanding Malone careers.
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Mt. Vernon Nazarene Holds Off Pioneer Comeback, Eliminates Malone From AMC Postseason Contention With 63-62 Win

February 17, 2009
The Malone University men’s basketball team cut a 47-32 second-half deficit to just one point in the waning moments at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University on Tuesday night, but the Pioneers were unable to come up with the go-ahead basket during their final possession as the Cougars held on for a narrow 63-62 American Mideast Conference victory.  Malone had trailed 44-30 at halftime but clamped down on the defensive end in the second stanza, out-scoring MVNU 32-19 while allowing the Cougars, who entered the contest ranked 15th in NAIA Division II, to convert on just five of 24 (20.8%) field-goal attempts over the final 20 minutes of action.  The hard-fought, one-point loss eliminated the Pioneers from contention for the one of the AMC’s seven playoff spots, dropping the squad’s record to 9-19 overall and 5-7 in the conference.  The Cougars, meanwhile, improved their postseason positioning with the victory, bettering their record to 21-7 overall and 9-3 in the AMC.
 
Malone jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the opening minutes of Tuesday’s contest but Mt. Vernon Nazarene closed the first half on a 12-0 run to take a 14-point lead into the locker room at intermission.  The Pioneers then slowly chipped away at the deficit in the second stanza, pulling to within one with 57 seconds left on a basket by forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Sr., Lake H.S.).  MVNU missed a jump shot on its ensuing possession, giving the ball back to Malone with 35 seconds remaining.  After running down the clock, Ferwerda drove to the basket and misfired on a go-ahead attempt.  Forward Taurean Dailey (Sr., McKinley H.S.) grabbed the offensive rebound and launched a shot just before the buzzer sounded, but his potential game-winning try was also off the mark, allowing MVNU to hang on for the 63-62 triumph.
 
Malone connected on 38.9% (21 of 54) of its field-goal attempts, 43.5% (10 of 23) of its three-pointers, and a season-high 90.9% (10 of 11) of its free throws over the course of the evening.  Mt. Vernon Nazarene hit 20 of 55 (36.4%) shots from the field, nine of 28 (32.1%) attempts from beyond the three-point arc and 14 of 19 (73.7%) tries from the charity stripe.  The Pioneers pulled down a season-best 47 rebounds compared to 25 boards for the Cougars but Malone also committed 20 turnovers.  Ferwerda led the way for the Pioneers with 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists.  Guard Mike Kaisk (Fr., Akron Springfield H.S.) followed with 13 points while forward Jock Rottman (So., Triway H.S.) came off the bench to post seven points.  Other contributors for Malone included guard Jeremy Duerr (Jr., Lake H.S.) with six points and a career-high seven assists and Dailey with six points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
 
The Pioneers will wrap-up their 2008-2009 campaign on Saturday at home with a 7:30 p.m. Senior Night contest against Daemen (NY) College (19-8 overall, 6-5 AMC).
 
Playoff Picture: The 14-team American Mideast Conference, which is competing in a one-division format this year as opposed to last season’s two-division setup, will receive two automatic bids to the NAIA Division II National Tournament.  The AMC’s regular-season champion will receive the conference’s first automatic bid.  The second national-tourney berth will be awarded to the winner of the six-team AMC Postseason Tournament which will consist of finishers two through seven in the final regular-season standings.  Finishers two and three will receive first-round byes and will host the tournament’s second-round competitions.
 
With just one AMC contest remaining on its schedule (Saturday at home against Daemen), Malone is currently in ninth place in the standings with a 5-7 conference record.  Notre Dame College, the University of Rio Grande and Ohio Dominican University all hold tiebreakers over the Pioneers because of their victories over Malone this season in conference play.  Depending on the outcome of this weekend’s AMC contests, the Pioneers could still potentially finish in a tie for seventh place.  However, in that scenario, the squad would lose tiebreakers with the top seven finishers and thus miss out on qualifying for the conference tournament.
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Ohio Dominican Outlasts Malone For Important Conference Victory

February 14, 2009
The Malone University men’s basketball team lost a hard-fought American Mideast Conference contest at Ohio Dominican University on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers used a 12-3 run late in the second half to pull away for a 74-67 victory.  The Pioneers had just scored 14 unanswered points to knot the contest at 55-55 with 7:26 remaining before the Panthers answered back, taking a 67-58 lead with their 12-3 scoring surge.  A three-pointer by Malone guard Jordan Jennings (Fr., Fairless H.S.) cut the ODU advantage to five at 69-64 with 1:05 left, but Ohio Dominican was able to seal the seven-point triumph by hitting five of six free throws over the final 65 seconds.  The loss dropped the Pioneers’ record to 9-18 overall and 5-6 in the AMC while the Panthers improved to 13-15 overall and 6-6 in the conference. 
 
Ohio Dominican took a 36-26 lead in to locker room at intermission on Saturday after outscoring Malone 21-6 over the final nine minutes of the opening stanza.  The Panthers then pushed their lead to 55-41 midway through second half before the Pioneers fought back to tie the contest.  On the afternoon, Ohio Dominican held a 36-28 advantage in total rebounds and connected on 72.0% (18 of 25) of its free throws, 49.0% (24 of 49) of its field goal attempts, and 47.1% (eight of 17) of its three-pointers.  Malone, meanwhile, knocked down 25 of 57 (43.9%) field goals, six of 16 (37.5%) threes, and 11 of 19 (57.9%) free throws.  Forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Sr., Lake H.S.) led the way for the Pioneers with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block.  Jennings added 11 points, all coming in the second half.  Center Ted Lawver (Jr., CVCA) registered nine points and three steals while forward Taurean Dailey (Sr., McKinley H.S.) notched eight points and four rebounds.
 
Although Saturday’s loss dealt a blow to Malone’s postseason chances, the Pioneers are still alive in their pursuit of one of the AMC’s seven playoff spots.  The squad returns to action on Tuesday evening with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University (20-7 overall, 8-3 AMC).
 
Playoff Picture: The 14-team American Mideast Conference, which is competing in a one-division format this year as opposed to last season’s two-division setup, will receive two automatic bids to the NAIA Division II National Tournament.  The AMC’s regular-season champion will receive the conference’s first automatic bid.  The second national-tourney berth will be awarded to the winner of the six-team AMC Postseason Tournament which will consist of finishers two through seven in the final regular-season standings.  Finishers two and three will receive first-round byes and will host the tournament’s second-round competitions.
 
With two AMC contests remaining on its schedule (Tuesday at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University and Saturday at home against Daemen College), Malone is currently in ninth place in the standings with a 5-6 conference record.  Notre Dame College, the University of Rio Grande and Ohio Dominican now all hold tiebreakers over the Pioneers because of their victories over Malone this season in conference play.  In order to qualify for the conference tournament, the Pioneers will now need to win both of their remaining contests and hope for some help in a couple of next week’s other conference games.
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Northwestern Ohio Races Out To Early Lead, Holds Off Pioneer Comeback Attempt

February 10, 2009
The Malone University men’s basketball team lost a hard-fought American Mideast Conference contest to the University of Northwestern Ohio on Tuesday evening at Osborne Hall as the visiting Racers charged out to an early 27-11 advantage and then withstood a strong second-half rally by the Pioneers to record a 75-69 victory.  Freshman guard Mike Kaisk (Akron Springfield H.S.), who matched his career-high with 19 points in the game, connected on a pair of free throws with 32 seconds remaining to pull Malone to within three at 69-66.  The Racers answered by going four-for-four at the foul line over their next two possessions, extending their advantage to 73-66.  Pioneer guard Jordan Jennings (Fr., Fairless H.S.) then cut the deficit to four by draining a three-pointer with 11 ticks showing on the game clock.  However, UNOH was able to cement the six-point win with a break-away lay-up in the final moments.  The loss dropped Malone’s record to 9-17 overall and 5-5 in the AMC while Northwestern Ohio improved to 15-12 overall and 7-3 in the conference.
 
The Pioneers trailed 43-31 at halftime but then used an 8-0 run early in the second frame to pull within two at 49-47.  The Racers stretched their advantage back to nine at 67-58 with three minutes remaining before holding off the late Malone comeback attempt. 
 
The Pioneers connected on 13 of 25 (52.0%) second-half field goal attempts to end the night with an overall shooting percentage of 44.6 (25 of 56).  Northwestern Ohio countered by making 24 of 59 (40.7%) shots from the field and 25 of 36 (69.4%) free throws.  The Racers hit just two of 15 (13.3%) three-pointers over the course of the evening, but held a 44-33 advantage in total rebounds.  In addition to leading the team with 19 points, Kaisk also posted three assists and two steals for Malone.  Forward Jock Rottman (So., Triway H.S.) followed with 11 points while center Ted Lawver (Jr., CVCA) posted 10 points and a team-best nine rebounds.
 
Despite the loss, the Pioneers still remain in contention for one of the AMC’s seven postseason spots.  The squad returns to action on Saturday with an important 4:00 p.m. conference match-up at Ohio Dominican University (12-15 overall, 5-6 AMC).
 
Playoff Picture: The 14-team American Mideast Conference, which is competing in a one-division format this year as opposed to last season’s two-division setup, will receive two automatic bids to the NAIA Division II National Tournament.  The AMC’s regular-season champion will receive the conference’s first automatic bid.  The second national-tourney berth will be awarded to the winner of the six-team AMC Postseason Tournament which will consist of finishers two through seven in the final regular-season standings.  Finishers two and three will receive first-round byes and will host the tournament’s second-round competitions.
    
With three AMC contests remaining on its schedule (Ohio Dominican, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, and Daemen College), Malone is currently in seventh place in the standings with a 5-5 conference record.
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Tough Defense Spurs Malone To 73-56 Victory Over Shawnee State

February 7, 2009
The Malone University men’s basketball team registered a 73-56 American Mideast Conference win at home on Saturday evening over Shawnee State University after limiting the visiting Bears to just 15 made field goals on 31.9% (15 of 47) shooting from the floor.  The Pioneers held Shawnee State to just six points over the first 11 and a half minutes of play and then used a 16-3 run midway through the second stanza to put the contest out of reach.  The win keeps Malone in solid contention for one of the AMC’s seven playoff spots and improves the squad’s record to 9-16 overall and 5-4 in the conference.  Shawnee State entered Saturday’s game having posted impressive victories over Cedarville University and the University of Rio Grande in its last two road contests, but the Bears were unable to extend their road winning streak, falling to 9-16 overall and 3-7 in the AMC with the defeat.
 
The Pioneers led 20-6 midway through the opening stanza and then extended their advantage to 34-15 later in the frame before Shawnee State trimmed the margin to 34-28 at intermission after outscoring Malone 13-0 over the final three minutes of the first half.  The Bears got no closer than six in the second period, however, as the Pioneers regained the momentum, stretching their lead to as many as 20 points en route to 73-56 triumph. 
 
Malone shot the ball well throughout the evening, connecting on 27 of 52 (51.9%) field goal attempts, five of 14 (35.7%) three-pointers, and 14 of 17 (82.4%) free throws.  Shawnee State also had success at the charity stripe, sinking 23 of 31 (74.2%) attempts from the foul line, but the visitors struggled from the three-point arc, converting on just three of 13 (23.1%) threes.  On the evening, each team tallied 17 turnovers and 32 total rebounds.  Center Ted Lawver (Jr., CVCA) came off the bench to pace the Pioneers with a game-high 19 points and two blocked shots.  Guard Jeremy Duerr (Jr., Lake H.S.) followed with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Forward Jock Rottman (So., Triway H.S.) added 14 points, four boards, three assists, and two steals, while forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Sr., Lake H.S.) and guard Mike Kaisk (Fr., Akron Springfield H.S.) both contributed nine points and four rebounds apiece.
 
Malone will return to action on Tuesday at home with another important AMC match-up against the University of Northwestern Ohio (14-12 overall, 6-3 AMC).
 
Playoff Picture:  The 14-team American Mideast Conference, which is competing in a one-division format this year as opposed to last season’s two-division setup, will receive two automatic bids to the NAIA Division II National Tournament.  The AMC’s regular-season champion will receive the conference’s first automatic bid.  The second national-tourney berth will be awarded to the winner of the six-team AMC Postseason Tournament which will consist of finishers two through seven in the final regular-season standings.  Finishers two and three will receive first-round byes and will host the tournament’s second-round competitions.
 
With four AMC contests remaining on its schedule (Northwestern Ohio, Ohio Dominican University, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, and Daemen College),  Malone is currently in a three-way tie with Daemen (NY) College and Notre Dame (OH) College for fifth place in the standings with a 5-4 conference record. 
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