January 18, 2005     (#3423)
For immediate release...........

Malone College Sports This Week

Jan. 18 (Tue.) - Women's Basketball at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University; 5:30 p.m.
                          - Men's Basketball at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University; 7:30 p.m.  (RADIO - but tape 
                            delayed at 9:00 p.m.)

Jan. 22 (Sat.) - Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field at Marietta College Open; 12:00 p.m.
                         - Women's Basketball home against Urbana University; 5:30 p.m.
                         - Men's Basketball home against Urbana University; 7:30 p.m.  (RADIO)
                           (Malone Athletics Hall of Fame recognition at halftime of the men's game)

NOTE: Malone basketball's radio broadcast schedule for the season can be found at www.malone.edu and then by clicking on either men's basketball or women's basketball.  In Monday weekly updates, games that are to be broadcast (WNPQ 95.9 FM) will be noted above.

Last Week at a Glance

 

Men's Basketball - Malone defeats:   
                                         Shawnee State University  93-87
                                  Malone loses to:
                                         Walsh University  82-76
                                         Wilberforce University  97-96
                                  CURRENT RECORD:   12-8  (3-5 AMC South) 

Women's Basketball - Malone defeats: 
                                              Shawnee State University  67-56
                                         Malone loses to:
                                               Walsh University  75-64 
                                               Wilberforce University  75-65
                                         CURRENT RECORD:  10-9  (3-5 AMC South)|
   

NOTE: For complete standings and statistics of Malone teams, visit www.amcsports.org.

Men’s Basketball Posts 1-2 Record For The Week; Hal Smith At 599 Wins

     The Malone College men’s basketball team lost a close battle with Walsh University 82-76 at Walsh last Tuesday but remained undefeated at home this year, with its seventh home victory in a row, in a 93-87 win over Shawnee State University on Thursday.  The Pioneers concluded the week with a heartbreaking 97-96 loss at Wilberforce University on Saturday as Malone head coach Hal Smith came up just short in a bid for his 600th career win as a collegiate head coach.  With the 1-2 week, Malone is now 12-8 overall and 3-5 in the AMC South Division.
     At Walsh, the Pioneers were down by just one point (32-31) at the half and held a 58-51 lead halfway through the second stanza before falling 82-76.  Shane Conwell (Sr., Stow H.S.) paced the squad with 29 points (11-17 FG, 4-8 3-PT FG, 3-3 FT).  University of Akron transfer Tyler Renner (Fr., Garaway H.S.) made his presence felt in his debut with 19 points and 12 rebounds in just under 13 minutes of play.  Chris Miller (So., Hiland H.S.) also hit double digits for Malone with 17 points.  Jason Mishler (Sr., Hiland H.S.) dished out a game-high nine assists while Miller collected three steals.  In addition, the Pioneers were out-rebounded 48-33 in the loss.
      Against Shawnee State, Malone led 45-41 at halftime and shot 52.9% from the field in the game for the 93-87 victory for win #599 for Hal Smith.  Miller paced four Pioneers in double digits with 21 points.  Conwell tallied 20 points followed by Renner and Mishler with 19 and 18 points, respectively.  Brian Allerding (So., Loudonville H.S.) ripped down 13 rebounds while Renner grabbed 12 as the Pioneers won the battle of the boards 42-36.  In addition, Mishler handed out 10 assists and posted six steals.
     At Wilberforce, Malone trailed 54-45 at the half but rallied by taking the lead by as many as five points later in the second half before Wilberforce came back in the final minutes to edge Malone 97-96.  Renner paced the Pioneers with 24 points followed by Conwell and Miller with 23 points each.  Renner also tallied a game-high 16 boards as the Pioneers dominated the boards 52-34.  In addition, Mishler dished out six assists. 
     This week, Malone (12-8, 3-5 AMC S) will face Mt. Vernon Nazarene University (14-6, 4-4 AMC S) on the road on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) and will then host Urbana University (4-15, 3-4 AMC S) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.  The Malone Athletics Hall of Fame Class of '05 (Ron Allen, Pascual Blanco, Andy Lyons, Keith Spiva and Dwayne Stanford) will be recognized at halftime of the men's game vs. Urbana on Saturday.
     This week’s opponents:  Mt. Vernon Nazarene - Malone holds a 38-17 lead in the all-time series with MVNU...The teams split the two-game series last year with Malone winning the first meeting 84-76 (at Malone) and MVNU taking game two 86-71(at MVNU).  Urbana - Malone leads this all-time series 48-21and swept Urbana last season 107-82 (at Malone) and 86-69 (at Urbana)...Malone has won 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Blue Knights.
     Malone notes:  Shane Conwell leads the team and the conference in scoring at 23.7 points per game followed by Chris Miller at 20.4...Brian Allerding paces the squad in rebounds at 6.1 per outing...Jason Mishler leads the team in assists at 5.5 per game (3rd in the AMC)...Malone leads the conference in free throw percentage at 77.2%...The Pioneers have a current seven-game home winning streak (undefeated at home this year).

Women’s Basketball Defeats NAIA Div. II # 25 Shawnee State; Loses To Walsh And Wilberforce

     The Malone College women’s basketball team lost to Walsh University 75-64 last Tuesday (away) but came back strong at home on Thursday with a 67-56 victory against NAIA Div. II #25 Shawnee State University.  The Pioneers then lost to Wilberforce University 75-65 (away) on Saturday to close out the week.  With the 1-2 week, Malone moves to 10-9 overall and to 3-5 in the AMC South Division.
     At Walsh, the Pioneers trailed 32-27 at halftime and shot just under 30% from the field for the game in the 75-64 loss.  Nikki Parson (So., Garaway H.S.) led three Pioneers in double figures with 19 points.  Michelle Ling (Sr., Hiland H.S.) added 17 points and five steals while Kellyn Murphy (Fr., St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) contributed 12 points and three assists.  In addition, Parson snagged 12 boards but Malone was edged in total rebounds 45-44.
     Against Shawnee State, the Pioneers trailed 30-29 at the half but outscored the Bears 38-26 in the second stanza.  Malone recorded a knockout blow by scoring the final 11 points of the contest for the 67-56 win.  N. Parson exploded for 28 points (12-16 FG, 4-4 FT) while Ling tallied 16 points.  Ling also dished out five assists and posted six steals in the contest.  In addition, N. Parson and Ashley Parson (Fr., Garaway H.S.) each recorded six rebounds but Malone lost the battle of the boards 42-35.
     At Wilberforce, the Pioneers trailed by five (36-31) at the half en route to the 75-65 loss.  Shauna Masonbrink (Sr., Canton South H.S.) tallied a career-high 18 points (8-11 FG, 2-2 FT) to pace Malone while N. Parson added 16 points and Ling contributed an even dozen along with five assists.  In addition, N. Parson grabbed nine rebounds but the Pioneers lost the rebounding battle 46-34. 
     This week, Malone (10-9, 3-5 AMC S) will travel to Mt. Vernon Nazarene University (5-12, 1-7 AMC S) for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off on Tuesday and will host Urbana University (8-11, 3-4 AMC S) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
     This week’s opponents: Mt. Vernon Nazarene - Malone leads the all-time series with MVNU 24-18 and swept the Cougars last year 82-69 (at Malone) and 76-60 (at MVNU) and have won the last three meetings.  Urbana - Urbana leads this series 19-12 and swept both games by narrow margins last season, 74-70 (at Malone) and 53-50 (at Urbana).
     Malone notes:  Michelle Ling leads the team in scoring at 20.2 points per game (3rd in AMC) followed by Nikki Parson at 18.8 per contest...N. Parson tops the squad in rebounds at 9.3 per contest (4th in AMC)… Ling also paces the team in assists at 4.3 per game while N. Parson leads the team and the conference in free throw percentage at 86.5 %...In addition, Ling is shooting an impressive 40.2% (4th in AMC) from three-point range (47 of 117)...Malone ranks first in the AMC in free throw percentage at 74.9% and third in field goal percentage at 45.1%.