Men’s Basketball Posts 1-1 Record In Hoops 4 Healing Classic

     The Malone College men’s basketball team hosted the Hoops 4 Healing Classic last Friday and Saturday and split its two contests in the seventh annual event that raises money for liver disease research on behalf of the Hoops 4 Healing Foundation.
     The Pioneers fell to Seton Hill (PA) University 75-73 in game two on Friday night while Walsh University defeated King (TN) College 72-52 in the first game.  On Saturday, Walsh lost to Seton Hill 77-72 in overtime while Malone defeated King 89-80 in the final game of the event.  With the 1-1 week, the Pioneers are currently 3-8 overall and 0-3 in the AMC South Division.
     Against Seton Hill, Malone led 41-34 at halftime but was outscored 41-32 in the second half in the 75-73 loss.  With five seconds left in the game, Malone's Chris Miller (Jr., Hiland H.S.) took an inbounds pass and drove the length of the court but missed a driving 10-footer at the buzzer for the potential tie.  Craig Giesy (Jr., Bristol H.S.) paced the squad with 19 points followed by Miller and Tyler Renner (So., Garaway H.S.) with 18 and 15 points, respectively.  Jesse Schlabach (Jr., Lake H.S.) collected a team-best three assists.  Renner and Giesy both grabbed eight rebounds as Malone won the battle of the boards 43-40.
     Against King, the Pioneers held a 40-26 advantage at the half en route to the 89-80 win.  Schlabach posted a career-best 29 points (8-13 FG, 4-7 3-PT FG, 9-9 FT) to lead all scorers.  Giesy contributed 20 points while Miller added 16 points.  Schlabach and Shane Humphrey (So., Loudonville H.S.) each tallied three assists while Schlabach also posted three steals. 
     This week, Malone (3-8, 0-3 AMC S) will compete in a pair of games in Florida.  On Tuesday, the Pioneers will take on Warner Southern (FL) College in a 4:00 p.m. game.  Then on Wednesday, Malone will play North Park (IL) University (at Warner Southern) in another 4:00 p.m. contest.
     This week’s opponents:  Warner Southern (FL) - Malone holds a 1-0 lead over Warner Southern in the all-time series having beaten WSC 86-74 on Dec. 21, 1991 (at WSC).  North Park (IL) - This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
     Malone notes:  Chris Miller leads the team in scoring at 13.8 point per game followed by Schlabach at 13.5 and Tyler Renner at 10.8 points per outing…Tyler Renner paces the squad in rebounds at 7.2 per outing followed by Shane Humphrey at 6.7...Ben Carver is averaging a team-best 2.0 assists per game.

Women’s Basketball Edged By Daemen 59-55

     The Malone College women’s basketball team lost a non-conference matchup to Daemen (NY) College on the road last Saturday by the score of 59-55 in the team's only contest of the week.  With the loss, the Pioneers are now 2-9 overall and 0-3 in the AMC South Division.
     At Daemen, Malone trailed by just two points at the half (28-26) and were outscored 31-29 in the second half en route to the tough 59-55 loss.  Heather Fenner (So., Shelby H.S.) led the Pioneer attack with 18 points (6-8 FG, 4-5 3-PT FG, 2-2 FT) followed by Cara Shiplett (So., Northwest H.S.) with 16 points.  Hailey Staubs (Fr., Manchester H.S.) and Fenner each dished out three assists while Fenner collected three steals as well.  In addition, Shiplett grabbed a team-high nine rebounds but Malone was edged in the battle of the boards 40-38.
     This week, Malone (2-9, 0-3 AMC S) is idle. The team’s next contest will be on Friday, December 30 at home in a 2:00 p.m. contest against Bluefield (VA) College.
     This week’s opponent:  Bluefield (VA) – This is the first meeting between the two teams.
     Malone notes: Nikki Parson leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game followed by Cara Shiplett at 13.2…Parson paces the squad in rebounds at 8.2 per outing followed by Shiplett at 7.6 per contest…Kellyn Murphy leads the team in assists at 2.8 per game.