Men’s Basketball Falls To Wilberforce, Bounces Back To Defeat Notre Dame

     The Malone College men’s basketball team split a pair of contests last week as the squad fell 84-74 to Wilberforce University on the road last Tuesday before bouncing back to defeat Notre Dame College at home on Thursday by the final score of 92-88.  Following the 1-1 week, Malone’s overall record now stands at 4-3 with an 0-2 mark in the American Mideast Conference South Division.
     Against Wilberforce, the Pioneers trailed 37-35 at halftime before gaining a slim 44-43 lead four minutes into the second stanza.  This one point advantage, though, would turn out to be Malone’s only lead of the night as the Bulldogs proceeded to go on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take a double-digit advantage midway through the second half.  Malone cut the deficit to eight points in the final minutes of the contest, but could not completely close the gap, falling by the 84-74 final.  The Pioneers struggled to take care of the ball throughout the game, committing a season-high 27 turnovers.  Junior post player Tyler Renner (Garaway H.S.) paced the Pioneer offense with 20 points and 12 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season.  Junior guard Ben Carver (Shelby H.S.) followed with 18 points while senior guard Jesse Schlabach (Lake H.S.) contributed 12 points.  Sophomore forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Lake H.S.) added nine points and six boards to help Malone out-rebound Wilberforce 42-31.  In addition, senior guard Chris Miller (Hiland H.S.) posted seven points, two assists, and two steals while Renner dished out three assists.
     Against Notre Dame, both teams battled back and fourth as the lead changed hands 17 times throughout the game before Malone went on an 8-0 run midway through the second half to claim a 73-66 advantage.  The Falcons fought back to cut the lead to just two with under one minute remaining in the game but were unable to convert on their final possessions, falling by the 92-88 final.  The Pioneers shot 54.2% from the field (32-59) in the contest, including a season-high 48.1% (13-27) from three-point range.  Renner paced a balanced Malone offensive attack with 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Miller followed with 16 points and four assists while Schlabach posted 14 points and three assists.  Carver added 13 points, six assists and four boards although Notre Dame held a 32-28 advantage in total rebounds.  In addition, Ferwerda tallied 12 points, five rebounds and four assists while sophomore guard Andrew Weaver (Hiland H.S.) contributed 12 points and four rebounds.
     This week, Malone (4-3, 0-2 AMC S) will host the Canton McKinley Grand Hotel Classic on Friday and Saturday.  Play will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday with Geneva (PA) College (6-3, 0-0 AMC N) facing Saint Francis (IL) University (3-3, 0-0 CCAC) followed by an 8:00 p.m. contest between Malone and Point Park (PA) University (11-0, 0-0 AMC N).  On Saturday, Point Park will play Saint Francis at 1:00 p.m. while Malone will face Geneva at 3:00 p.m.
     This week’s opponents: Point Park (PA) - Malone holds an 8-6 advantage in the all-time series with Point Park and won the last meeting 77-73 on January 3rd, 2002.  The Pioneers have won the last two contests between the schools.  Geneva (PA) -  The Golden Tornadoes lead the all-time series with Malone 23-17 and defeated the Pioneers in their last meeting on December 6th, 2005 by the final score of 89-71 (at Geneva).  Malone has won three out of its last four home games against the Golden Tornadoes.
     Pioneer Notes: Tyler Renner leads the team in scoring at 21.3 points per game followed by Ben Carver at 15.1 and Chris Miller at 11.7…Renner paces the squad in rebounding at 8.1 per outing followed by Carver at 5.3 and James Hannum at 5.1…Carver leads the team in assists at 4.0 per game.

Women’s Basketball Defeats Wilberforce, Falls At Urbana For First Loss Of Season

     The Malone College women’s basketball team split two conference road games last week, picking up a 49-32 win at Wilberforce University last Tuesday before suffering its first loss of the season, a 61-52 defeat at Urbana University on Saturday.  Following the 1-1 week, the Pioneers’ overall record now stands at 8-1 with a 2-1 mark in the American Mideast Conference South Division. 
     Against Wilberforce, the Pioneers held a 26-17 halftime lead before pulling away with an 11-3 run to open the second half.  The Bulldogs struggled to get any offense going throughout the 49-32 loss as they made just eight of their 40 shot attempts (20%) in the contest.  Forwards Cara Shiplett (Jr., Northwest H.S.) and Nikki Parson (Sr., Garaway H.S.) once again paced the Malone attack as Shiplett tallied 12 points and seven rebounds while Parson posted 10 points and 16 rebounds.  Junior guard Heather Fenner (Shelby H.S.) recorded seven points while senior guard Erica Mishler (Hiland H.S.) added six points and four boards to help the Pioneers out-rebound Wilberforce 45-27.  In addition, junior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) contributed three assists while Shiplett snagged three steals.
     Against Urbana, Malone jumped out to a 21-13 lead midway through the first half before the Blue Knights stormed back on a 20-9 run to claim a 33-30 halftime advantage.  The Pioneers tied the game 34-34 in the opening minutes of the second stanza but were unable to reclaim the lead over the remainder of the contest, falling by the 61-52 final.  Parson led Malone with 20 points, five rebounds and four steals followed by senior guard Jennifer Miday (North Canton Hoover H.S.), who tallied 10 points and four rebounds.  Murphy added six points and four assists while sophomore forward Nicole Feher (Lutheran West H.S.) contributed five boards although Urbana held a slim 29-28 advantage in total rebounds. 
     This week, Malone (8-1, 2-1 AMC S) will travel to Kentucky Christian University (8-5) on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. contest before heading to Ohio Dominican University (6-5, 1-1 AMC S) on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. conference match-up with the Panthers.
     This week’s opponents: Kentucky Christian - Malone defeated the Knights last season at home by the final score of 72-60.  This November 18th, 2005 contest marked the first and only meeting between the two programs. Ohio Dominican - The Pioneers hold a 26-22 advantage in the all-time series with the Panthers. The two teams split last year’s series with Ohio Dominican winning the first meeting 83-70 (at ODU) and Malone taking game two 70-56 (at Malone).  The home team has won the last five contests between the two schools.
     Pioneer Notes: Nikki Parson leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game followed by Cara Shiplett at 12.0 and Kellyn Murphy at 10.3…Shiplett paces the squad in rebounding at 8.9 per outing followed closely by Parson at 8.8…Murphy leads the team in assists at 3.4 per game.