The Malone College men’s basketball team opened American Mideast Conference South Division play last Wednesday with a 93-85 loss on the road against Shawnee State University.  The Pioneers then hosted the Canton Marriott McKinley Grand Hotel Tournament last Friday and Saturday and came away with a pair of victories and the tournament title.  In game one on Friday, Daemen (NY) College beat Campbellsville (KY) University 80-68 while Malone downed Concordia (MI) University 105-84.  On Saturday, Campbellsville beat Concordia 61-46 in the consolation game and the Pioneers defeated Daemen 90-89 in a thrilling championship contest that saw Malone hit a winning free throw with just one second left to earn the win.  With the 2-1 week, Malone’s record is now 4-4 overall and 0-1 in the AMC South.
     At Shawnee State, the Pioneers trailed 42-33 at the half and, despite shooting 58.1% from the field in the second period, came up short in the 93-85 loss.  Shane Conwell (Sr., Stow H.S.) paced the squad with 25 points followed by Jason Mishler (Sr., Hiland H.S.) with 19 and Chris Miller (So., Hiland H.S.) with 16 points.  Craig Giesy (So., Bristol H.S.) grabbed a team-best seven boards but Malone was out-rebounded 44-28.  In addition, Mishler added four assists.
     Against Concordia, Malone led 56-35 at halftime and cruised to the 105-84 victory.  Six Pioneer players scored in double digits led by Conwell with 22 points.  Mishler contributed 17 points, three assists and six steals followed by Jesse Schlabach (So., Lake H.S.) with 16 points and Miller with 13.  Brian Allerding (So., Loudonville H.S.) posted a double double with 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds as the Pioneers won the battle of the boards 40-38.  Dan Owolabi (So., Dalton H.S.) also tallied 10 points for Malone.
     Against Daemen, Malone trailed by one point at the half (43-42) and shot 59.3% from the field in the second half to emerge with a dramatic one point (90-89) win.  With the game tied at 89-89, Schlabach drove the lane and was fouled and, with just one second left on the clock, sank the first of two free throw attempts to give Malone the 90-89 victory.  Mishler dished out four assists and led the squad in scoring with 24 points, including four three-pointers.  Conwell surpassed the 1,000 career-point mark as he tallied 21 points for a total of 1,004 points.  Miller also posted twin digits in the win with 14 points.  James Hannum (So., Massillon H.S.) ripped down a game-high 11 rebounds as Malone won the battle of the boards 41-30.  In addition, Mishler and Hannum represented the Pioneers on the All-Tournament Team.
     This week, Malone (4-4, 0-1 AMC S) will compete in the Hoops 4 Healing Classic, hosted by Walsh University, on Friday and Saturday.  On Friday, Malone will take on Notre Dame (OH) College (4-4, 0-1 AMC N) at 6:00 p.m. with Walsh (4-2, 1-0 AMC S) facing St. Vincent (PA) College (6-2, 1-0 AMC N) at 8:00 p.m.  On Saturday, the Pioneers will compete against St. Vincent in a 1:00 p.m. game with Walsh squaring off against Notre Dame at 3:00 p.m.
     This week’s opponents: Notre Dame (OH) - Malone leads in the all-time series by a 2-0 margin and defeated ND 84-76 in the most recent meeting (11/15/02)...St. Vincent (PA) - Malone leads the all-time series with the Bearcats 5-3 but lost to St. V in the most recent matchup between the teams 68-58 (at St. Vincent, 1/23/02).
     Malone notes:  Shane Conwell leads the team in scoring at 22.5 point per game followed by Chris Miller at 18.2 and Jason Mishler at 17.4...James Hannum paces the squad in rebounds at 7.4 per outing...Jason Mishler leads the team in assists at 4.9. per game.

     The Malone College women’s basketball team downed Ursuline College 81-46 last Friday at Ursuline to open its week of action and then defeated Roberts Wesleyan (NY) College 93-81 on Saturday (away).  With the two wins, Malone improves to 5-4 overall and remains at 0-1 in the AMC South Division.
     At Ursuline, the Pioneers held a 45-20 advantage at the half and out-scored the Arrows 36-26 in the second half to earn the 81-46 victory.  Michelle Ling (Sr., Hiland H.S.) dished out five assists and scored a game-high 16 points followed by Erica Mishler (So., Hiland H.S.) with 14 points.  Nikki Parson (So., Garaway H.S.) added 11 points while Nicki Sisson (Fr., Wayne Trace H.S.) and Linnea Skipper (Sr., Canton South H.S.) each contributed 10 points.  In addition, Parson ripped down a game-high 11 rebounds as Malone dominated the boards 45-19. 
     At Roberts Wesleyan, the Pioneers led 48-38 at halftime en route to the 93-81 win.  Parson exploded for a game-high 32 points (13-17 FG, 6-6 FT) and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double double.  Ling tallied 29 points (11-21 FG, 2-4 3-PT FG, 5-6 FT) followed by Sisson with 16 points.  Mishler dished out a game-best 10 assists and the Pioneers won the battle of the boards 45-30.  In addition, Ling’s 29 points moved her into second place on Malone’s all-time career points list with 1,730 points.  Ling surpassed Kristen Beach (1,704)) and trails only Gloria Blanks (2,459 points). 
     This week, Malone (5-4, 0-1 AMC S) will travel to Geneva (PA) College (5-1, 1-0 AMC N) on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. contest and will close out the week by hosting Ohio Dominican University (8-2, 1-0 AMC S) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
     This week’s opponents:  Geneva (PA) - Malone leads the all-time series with the Golden Tornadoes by a 13-3 margin and defeated Geneva in last season's matchup by the score of 69-53 (at Malone).  Ohio Dominican - Malone leads the all-time series 24-20 but the Panthers swept the two-game series last season (72-63 at Malone, 74-70 at ODU).  Ohio Dominican has also won the last six meetings between the squads.
     Malone notes:  Michelle Ling leads the team in scoring at 22.2 points per game followed by Nikki Parson at 18.8 per contest...Parson tops the squad in rebounds at 9.2 per contest followed by Ashley Parson at 4.6...Ling also paces the team in assists at 4.2 per game...In addition, both Ling is shooting an impressive 43% from three-point range (25 of 58) while Mishler is close behind at 39% (16 of 41).