January 24, 2005     (#3424)
For immediate release...........

Malone College Sports This Week

Jan. 25 (Tue.) - Women's Basketball at Ohio Dominican University; 6:00 p.m.
                          - Men's Basketball at Ohio Dominican University; 8:00 p.m.

Jan. 27 (Thu.) - Men's Basketball at Daemen (NY) College; 7:30 p.m. 
                            RADIO - tape delay at 9:00 p.m.

Jan. 29 (Sat.) - Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field at The Ohio State University Invitational;
                           12:00 p.m.
                         - Women's Basketball home against University of Rio Grande; 5:30 p.m.
                         - Men's Basketball home against University of Rio Grande; 7:30 p.m.  RADIO

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

Women's Basketball - Malone defeats: 
                                               Mt. Vernon Nazarene University  75-57
                                         CURRENT RECORD:  11-9  (4-5 AMC South)|
                                         NOTE: Last Saturday's scheduled home game vs. Urbana University was
                                                      postponed due to weather (new date/time is Thu., Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m.)

Men's Basketball - Malone loses to:   
                                         Mt. Vernon Nazarene University  96-93 (OT)
                                  CURRENT RECORD:   12-9  (3-6 AMC South) 
                                  NOTE: Last Saturday's scheduled home game vs. Urbana University was
                                               postponed due to weather (new date/time is Thu., Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.)

Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field - Malone women placed second among 8 teams at the Marietta College Open; Malone men finished third among 8 teams
   

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

Women’s Basketball Beats Mt. Vernon Nazarene 75-57

     The Malone College women’s basketball team defeated Mt. Vernon Nazarene University 75-57 last Tuesday at MVNU in its only contest of the week.  The home contest against Urbana University on Saturday was postponed due to weather (new date/time is Thu., Feb. 3 at 5:30 p.m.).  With the win, the Pioneers improve to 11-9 overall and to 4-5 in the AMC South Division.
     At MVNU, Malone held a 43-35 advantage at the half en route to the 75-57 conference victory.  Michelle Ling (Sr., Hiland H.S.) led all scorers with 27 points followed by Shauna Masonbrink (Sr., Canton South H.S.) and Nikki Parson (So., Garaway H.S.) with 13 points each.  The Pioneers dominated the boards 46-33 with Parson and Masonbrink ripping down 14 and 11 rebounds, respectively.  Parson also dished out a team-best four assists while Ling collected a game-high six steals.
     This week, Malone (11-9, 4-5 AMC S) will travel to Ohio Dominican University (12-10, 3-6 AMC S) on Tuesday for a 6:00 p.m. game and then will host the University of Rio Grande (17-5, 6-2 AMC S) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
     This week’s opponents: Ohio Dominican – Malone leads the all-time series against ODU 25-20, including a 78-63 victory at home earlier this season.  Rio Grande – Malone trails Rio in the all-time series 34-16…The Pioneers had beaten the Redwomen in six straight games before losing 63-60 earlier this season at Rio.
     Malone notes:  Michelle Ling leads the team in scoring at 20.6 points per game (3rd in AMC) followed by Nikki Parson at 18.5 per contest...N. Parson tops the squad in rebounds at 9.5 per contest (5th in AMC)… Ling also paces the team in assists at 4.2 per game while N. Parson leads the team and the conference in free throw percentage at 86.8%...In addition, Ling is shooting an impressive 40.0% (4th in AMC) from three-point range (50 of 125)...Malone ranks first in the AMC in free throw percentage at 75.1% and third in field goal percentage at 44.6%.

Men’s Basketball Falls To Mt. Vernon Nazarene 96-93 In Overtime

     The Malone College men’s basketball team lost 96-93 in overtime at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University last Tuesday in its only game of the week.  The game at home against Urbana University on Saturday was postponed due to weather (new date/time is Thu., Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.).  With the loss, the Pioneers are now 12-9 overall and 3-6 in the AMC South Division.
     At MVNU, Malone trailed 34-31 at the half and came back to tie the game at 81-all at the end of regulation.  In OT, the Cougars outscored the Pioneers 15-12 for the 96-93 OT win.  Shane Conwell (Sr., Stow H.S.) led five Pioneer players in double digits with 24 points, including five three-pointers.  Shane Humphrey (Fr., Loudonville H.S.) returned to the line-up, after missing numerous games with an injury, to score 18 points while Jesse Schlabach (So., Lake H.S.) followed with 16 points, Jason Mishler (Sr., Hiland H.S.) added 15 and Tyler Renner (Fr., Garaway H.S.) chipped in 14 points.  Humphrey and Renner each grabbed eight rebounds as Malone won the battle of the boards 45-38.  In addition, Mishler dished out a game-high 11 assists.
     This week, Malone (12-9, 3-6 AMC S) will travel to Ohio Dominican University (11-7, 4-5 AMC S) on Tuesday and to Daemen (NY) College (13-7, 4-1 AMC N) on Thursday.  Both contests begin at 7:30 p.m. The Pioneers then return home to face the University of Rio Grande (16-5, 5-3 AMC S) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
     This week’s opponents:  Ohio Dominican – Malone holds a 54-16 advantage in the all-time series against ODU…The Pioneers beat the Panthers 120-114 in OT at home earlier this season.  Daemen – Malone leads the all-time series against Daemen 10-2 and defeated the Wildcats 90-89 at home earlier this season.  Rio Grande – Malone trails Rio in the all-time series 37-33…The Redmen swept the Pioneers last season (81-71 at Rio and 76-70 at Malone) and won 94-81 at Rio earlier this season.
     Malone notes:  Shane Conwell leads the team and the conference in scoring at 23.7 points per game followed by Chris Miller at 19.6...Brian Allerding paces the squad in rebounds at 6.0 per outing while Tyler Renner is averaging 12.0 boards having played in just four games (does not appear in AMC standings due to minimum games requirement)...Jason Mishler leads the team in assists at 5.8 per game (3rd in the AMC)...Malone leads the conference in free throw percentage at 76.9%...The Pioneers have a current seven-game home winning streak (undefeated at home this year).

Women's Indoor Track & Field Places Second At Marietta Open; Men Take Third

     The Malone College men's and women's track & field teams, led by head coach Charlie Grimes, opened their respective 2005 indoor seasons last Saturday by competing in the Marietta College Open.  Both teams opened in solid fashion as the Pioneer women placed second among an eight-team field that consisted of NCAA Div. I, II and III teams while the Malone men finished third among its eight-team field.
     For the women, Malone tallied 99 points as Ashland University won the meet with 262 points.  Lynchburg College was third with 92 points, University of Charleston took fourth with 79 points and Wittenberg University rounded out the top five with 41.5 points.
     For the men, Malone racked up 118 points as Ashland also won the men's meet, with 234.5 points.  Lynchburg finished in the runner-up spot with 201 points, Marietta College took fourth with 77 points and Wittenberg rounded out the top five with 60 points.
     Loren Reineke (So., Anna H.S.) was the sole individual event winner for the Malone women as she captured the 800 meters in a time of 2:30.02. 
     Second-place finishers for the women included Brittany Davies (So., Cedarville H.S.) in the 1000 meters in 3:12.25 and two Pioneer relay units.  The 4x200-meter relay team of Kristina Barrett (Jr., Licking Valley H.S.), Sarah Culverhouse (So., East Canton H.S.), Brooke Gasser (So., Norwayne H.S.) and Laura McElrath (Tallmadge, OH) took second in 1:50.95 while the 4x400-meter relay unit of McElrath, Gasser, Barrett and Davies placed runner-up in 4:26.47.
     Ashley Currence (So., East Canton H.S.) placed third in the long jump with a 16' 6" effort.
     For the men, no one was able to post a first-place finish but several athletes pocketed second-place finishes including Adam Huffman (Jr., Crestview H.S.) in the 400 meters in 52.94 seconds, Curtis Mortenson (Jr., Kodiak, AK) in the 3000 meters in 9:07.56 and the men's distance medley relay team of Luke McCluggage (Fr., Jackson-Milton H.S.), Tyler Lunn (Fr., McDonald H.S.), Andrew Hodgson (Jr., Salem H.S.) and Mike Coates (Fr., Sandy Valley H.S.) in a time of 10:51.77.
     Third-place finishers included Jovanti Freeman (Fr., Maple Heights H.S.) in the 55-meter dash in 6.64 seconds, Chris Hare (So., Coopersville, MI) in the 55-meter hurdles (8.35 seconds) and Ray Weisenbarger (Jr., Troy Christian H.S.) in the shot put (51' 4.5").
     This week, Malone will travel to Columbus, Ohio for The Ohio State University Invitational on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.