The Malone College men’s basketball team pulled out a thrilling 87-85 victory over Tiffin University last Tuesday night at home when Jesse Schlabach (Jr., Lake H.S.) nailed a deep three-pointer as time expired.  The Pioneers, utilizing the momentum from this exhilarating victory, went on to defeat Wilberforce on the road Saturday by a score of 92-76.  With the 2-0 week in conference play, the Pioneers boosted their playoff aspirations and improved their current record to 13-13 overall and to 8-6 in the AMC South Division.
     Against Tiffin, Malone found themselves trailing at the half 44-34, but the Pioneers, as they have done throughout this season, once again fought back in the final period, tying the score 71-71 with just four minutes remaining in the game.  The two teams traded baskets for the next few possessions before Tiffin was able to take an 85-84 advantage after grabbing a missed Pioneer free throw and flying down the court to convert a lay-up, leaving just three seconds remaining on the clock.  After a timeout by each squad, Schlabach took the inbounds pass from underneath the Tiffin basket and proceeded to run up the court, launching a long shot at the buzzer that found nothing but the bottom of the net, giving the Pioneers an incredible 87-85 victory.  The Malone offense was led by Tyler Renner (So., Garaway H.S.) with 27 points (11-18 FG, 0-1 3PT FG, 5-5 FT) followed by Schlabach with 24 clutch points, including six three-point field goals.  Renner grabbed nine rebounds but the Dragons held a 40-31 overall advantage on the boards.  In addition, Chris Miller (Jr., Hiland H.S.) added 14 points, Ben Carver (So., Shelby H.S.) dished out five assists and Renner tallied four assists.
     At Wilberforce, the Pioneers stormed out to a 54-39 halftime lead and maintained their advantage throughout the second period en route to the 92-76 victory.  The balanced Malone offense attack, which featured five players in double figures, was paced by Shane Humphrey (So., Loudonville H.S.), who poured in a game and season-high 21 points, followed by Schlabach with 19 points and Renner, who posted a double-double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  Miller tallied 15 points and Craig Giesy (Jr., Bristol H.S.) added 10 points.  The Pioneers also held a significant advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 39-22.  In addition, Schlabach dished out six assists and Humphrey and Renner each tallied three assists, respectively.
     This week, Malone (13-13, 8-6 AMC S) will travel to local rival  Walsh University (20-5, 11-2 AMC S), currently ranked #3 in NAIA Div. II, on Tuesday for an 8:00 p.m. contest in the 42nd annual Mayors’ Cup Game.  The Pioneers will then host Urbana University (12-12, 8-5 AMC S) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the final home game of the regular season for Malone.
     This week’s opponents:  Walsh - Walsh leads the all-time series over Malone 53-38 and has defeated Malone in four straight meetings.  In the Mayors' Cup series, Walsh leads 23-18 and has won the last six Mayors' Cup contests including a 77-73 win last year (at Malone) which gave the Cavaliers' their fourth retired Cup (i.e., by winning the Mayors' Cup game three straight times).  Malone has retired the Cup three times.  Urbana - Malone leads the all-time series with Urbana 51-21 and has won five in a row over the Blue Knights including a 94-91 win earlier this year (at Urbana).
     Malone notes: Tyler Renner paces the squad in scoring at 15.8 points per game followed by Jesse Schlabach at 15.1 and Chris Miller at 15.0… Renner also leads the team in rebounding with 8.1 per game followed by Shane Humphrey with 6.1…Schlabach leads the team in assists at 2.5 per game.

Women’s Basketball Falls To Tiffin At Home, Wilberforce On The Road

     The Malone College women’s basketball team lost to Tiffin University at home last Tuesday night 67-54 and then was unable to rebound on Saturday, falling to Wilberforce University 68-61.  With the 0-2 week in conference play, the Pioneers are currently 9-14 overall and 6-8 in the AMC South Division. 
     Against Tiffin, Malone struggled to find any offensive rhythm, shooting just 27.1% (19-70) from the field for the game.  The Pioneers trailed 36-24 at the half and were unable to close the gap in the final period, falling 67-54.  Heather Fenner (So., Shelby H.S.) paced the Malone offense with 13 points, followed by Kellyn Murphy (So., St. Vincent/St. Mary H.S.) with 10 points.  Cara Shiplett (So., Northwest H.S.) added nine points and seven rebounds and Nikki Parson (Jr., Garaway H.S.) posted eight points and nine rebounds.  The Pioneers, however, were out-rebounded by the Dragons 48-38.  In addition, Erica Mishler (Jr., Hiland H.S.) dished out four assists and collected four steals and Parson tallied three steals.
     At Wilberforce, Malone’s shooting struggles continued in the opening period as the Pioneers shot 33.3% (10-30) in the first half and trailed 32-25 at halftime.  Although Malone fought back to grab the lead midway through the second period, the Pioneers could not hold on, losing 68-61.  Shiplett led the way for Malone, posting her seventh double-double of the year, with 19 points and 13 rebounds.  Parson added 17 points and nine rebounds, Nikki Sisson (So., Wayne Trace H.S.) tallied nine points and Mishler posted eight points.  The Pioneers held the advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 43-33.  In addition, Murphy contributed four assists, Jennifer Miday (N. Canton Hoover H.S.) dished out three assists and Mishler collected three steals.
     This week, Malone (9-14, 6-8 AMC S) will travel to local rival Walsh University (12-10, 8-5 AMC S) on Tuesday night for a 6:00 p.m. game in the 10th annual Mayors’ Cup Game.  The team will then host Urbana University (5-18, 0-13 AMC S) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the final home game of the regular season for Malone.
     This week’s opponents:  Walsh - Malone holds a 31-28 advantage in the all-time series with Walsh although the Cavaliers defeated Malone earlier this season 64-53 (at Malone).  In the Mayors' Cup series, Malone leads 5-4, having won last year's game 67-50 (at Malone).  Malone has retired the Cup (i.e., winning three straight Mayors' Cup games) once while Walsh has not retired the Cup.  Urbana - Urbana leads the all-time series vs. Malone 20-14 although the Pioneers have won two straight over the Blue Knights, including a 67-57 win (at Urbana) earlier this season.
     Malone notes: Nikki Parson leads the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game followed by Cara Shiplett at 14.2…Parson also paces the squad in rebounding with 8.7 per game followed by Shiplett with 8.2…Kellyn Murphy leads the team in assists at 3.1 per game.        

Women's Indoor Track & Field Team Captures Mt. Union Invitational, Men Place Sixth; Other Athletes Compete At Akron, Cedarville Meets

 

     The Malone College women's indoor track & field team posted a victory among a nine-team field at the Mt. Union College Invitational last Saturday while the men's team finished sixth among nine teams.  The women tallied 105 points for the win as host Mt. Union was second with 95 points.  The Pioneer men's team chalked up 41 points as Mt. Union won the men's meet with 188.5 points.
     For the women, Brooke Gasser (Jr., Norwayne H.S.) captured the 300-meter dash in a time of 42.99 seconds and also finished fourth in the 55-meter dash (7.50).
     Other event winners for the women were Laura McElrath (So., Tallmadge H.S.) in the 55-meter hurdles (8.96 seconds) and Holly Motter (Fr., Mt. Union, PA) in long jump (17' .5") where the team went 1-2-3 in that event.  In addition, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Vallie Scott (Fr., West Branch H.S.), Kim Winton (Fr., Medina H.S.), Kristina Barrett (Sr., Licking Valley H.S.) and Brittany Davies (Jr., Cedarville H.S.) won in a time of 4:12.17.
     Second-place winners for the women included McElrath in the long jump (17' .25") and Scott in the 400-meter dash (1:02.04) while the women's 4x60-meter relay unit of Scott, Winton, Barrett and Davies also took second in 1:27.80.
     Third-place honors went to Davies in the 400-meter dash (1:02.94), Winton in the 500-meter dash (1:24.46), Megan Patton (Fr., Perry H.S.) in the 55-meter hurdles (9.10) and Ashley Currence (Jr., East Canton H.S.) in the long jump (16' 8").
     Barrett took fourth in the 400 meters (1:03.48) while Davies placed fourth in the 800 meters (2:29.19).  McElrath also took a top-five spot by placing fifth in the high jump at 4' 11.75".
     For the men, the 4x400-meter relay team of Tim Walter (Sr., West Muskingum H.S.), Jeb Ford (Fr., Minerva H.S.), Chris Cruise (So., Field H.S.) and Cody Ford (Sr., Minerva H.S.) captured the lone first-place finish for the men's team with a winning time of 3:28.99.
     The men's 4x160-meter unit of Walter, Cody Ford, Cruise and Adam Huffman (Sr., Crestwood H.S.) finished second in a time of 1:14.33.
     Third-place finishers for the men included Jeb Ford in the 55-meter dash (6.61) and Will McGibbon (Fr., Newton Mearns, Scotland) in high jump (6' 1.5").
     Brady West (Jr., West Muskingum H.S.) finished fourth in the high jump at 5' 8.75" while Cruise and Jay Brueckner (So., Crestview H.S.) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 500-meter dash in 1:09.71 and 1:10.40.
     At the University of Akron meet, Joanna Genter (Jr., Crestview H.S.) finished third in the 5000 meters at 17:31.17and posted the fastest time in the NAIA so far this year and also set a new Malone indoor record.  In addition, Nik Schweikert (Fr., Beavercreek H.S.) also qualified for the NAIA indoor national meet with a time of 8:38.53 in the 3000 meters (13th place).
     At Cedarville, the Malone race walkers competed and again fared extremely well as Lindsey Hipp (Sr., Amherst H.S.) won the women's 1600-meter race walk in a time of 7:41.40 while Missy Walker (Jr., Piqua H.S.) finished fourth in 8:47.54.
     For the men, Nate Hughes (Jr., Worthington Christian H.S.) won the 1600-meter race walk in a time of 8:10.54 while Brad Sinick (Jr., Field H.S.) was right behind in second at 8:14.89.  

Men's Tennis Team Wins Season Opener 9-0 Against Charleston

 

     The Malone College men's tennis team captured its season-opening victory in convincing fashion last Saturday with a 9-0 win at home (at the HOF Fitness Center) against NCAA Div. II University of Charleston (WV).  All victories came in straight sets with the exception of #1 Jason Christman's (Jr., Canton McKinley H.S.) three-set singles win.

     Scores for the match were as follows:
     #1 Jason Christman (Jr., Canton McKinley H.S.)              W 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
     #2 Kyle Bowers (Fr., Norwalk H.S.)                                      W 6-3, 6-0
     #3 Brian Paul (Sr., Louisville H.S.)                                       W 7-5, 6-3
     #4 Tim Springirth (Fr., Erie, PA)                                            W 6-2, 6-1
     #5 Dan Aluise (Sr., Cranberry Twp., PA)                             W 6-2, 6-3
     #6 Dan Yard (So., Louisville H.S.)                                        W 6-0, 6-3
     #1 Christman/Paul                                                                  W 8-2
     #2 Bowers/Springirth                                                              W 8-0

     #3 Aluise/Yard                                                                          W 8-2
     This week, Malone will host NCAA Div. II Slippery Rock (PA) University in a 6:00 p.m. match on Friday at the Hall of Fame Fitness Center in the team's only match of the week.