Men's Basketball - Malone defeats:
                                     *Virginia Intermont College 77-56

                                     * Daemen (NY) College 68-50
                              CURRENT RECORD: 7-4  (0-2 AMC South)
                                     * Hoops 4 Healing Classic (hosted by Walsh University)

 

Women's Basketball - Malone loses to:
                                          Huntington (IN) University 64-60

                                   CURRENT RECORD:  9-3  (2-2 AMC South)

     The Malone College men’s basketball team tallied two victories last weekend at the Hoops 4 Healing Classic.  The eighth annual event, which raises money for liver disease research on behalf of the Hoops 4 Healing Foundation, was hosted by Walsh University this year.  Malone opened play on Friday with a 77-56 win over Virginia Intermont College before rolling to a 68-50 victory over Daemen (NY) College on Saturday afternoon.  With the 2-0 week, the Pioneers improved their overall record to 7-4 with an 0-2 mark in the American Mideast Conference South Division.

     Against Virginia Intermont, Malone went on a 12-0 run midway through the first stanza to take a commanding 37-21 halftime lead.  The Pioneers maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half as they cruised to an impressive 77-56 victory.  Junior post player Tyler Renner (Garaway H.S.) paced the squad with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocked shots in just 25 minutes of play.  Senior guard Chris Miller (Hiland H.S.) also posted 16 points with six steals while sophomore forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Lake H.S.) tallied nine points and five boards to help Malone out-rebound Virginia Intermont 40-36.  Other significant contributors in Friday’s contest included sophomore guard Andrew Weaver (Hiland H.S.) with eight points and junior guard Ben Carver (Shelby H.S.), who posted eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists.

     Against Daemen, the Pioneers used a 14-2 run over the final seven minutes of the first half to take a 35-21 lead.  Just like in Friday’s contest, Malone then maintained a sizable advantage throughout the second half en route to the 68-50 win.  Daemen struggled all afternoon to get its offense on track as the Wildcats made just 18 of 59 (30.5%) shots from the field while committing 19 turnovers.  Malone had much more success as the Pioneers converted 24 of their 53 (45.3%) field goal attempts in the game with just 11 turnovers.  Renner once again led the offensive attack with 21 points (9-15 FG, 1-1 3PT FG, 2-2 FT) and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.  Miller followed with 11 points while Carver posted nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.  In addition, senior guard Jesse Schlabach (Lake H.S.) tallied eight points and junior post player Shane Humphrey (Loudonville H.S.) contributed seven points and six rebounds. 

     This week, Malone (7-4, 0-2 AMC S) will host a 7:30 p.m. contest against Myers University (2-9) on Tuesday before traveling to Urbana University (4-7, 0-3 AMC S) on Thursday for a 5:00 p.m. conference match-up with the Blue Knights.   

     This week’s opponents: Myers- The Mustangs are competing in their first season of intercollegiate basketball. Urbana- The Pioneers hold a 54-21 advantage in the all-time series with the Blue Knights.  Malone swept both games of the series last season, winning 94-91 (at Urbana) and 106-85 (at Malone).  The Pioneers have dominated the series in recent years, winning 16 out of the last 17 meetings between the two schools.

     Next week, the Pioneers will travel to California to compete in the California State-East Bay Tournament.  Malone will open play on Friday, December 29th with a 8:00 p.m. (EST) contest against California Maritime Academy (5-4).  Then on Saturday, December 30th the Pioneers will face the tournament’s host, Cal State-East Bay (1-7), at 7:00 p.m. (EST).

     Next week’s opponents: The December 29th and 30th contests will mark Malone’s first-ever meetings with both California Maritime and Cal State-East Bay.

     Pioneer Notes: Tyler Renner leads the team in scoring at 19.9 points per game followed by Ben Carver at 13.8 and Chris Miller at 11.2…Renner also paces the squad in rebounding at 8.3 per outing followed by Carver at 5.6 and Shane Humphrey at 5.0…Carver leads the team in assists with 4.0 per game.

     The Malone College women’s basketball team traveled to Huntington (IN) University last Saturday, suffering a narrow 64-60 loss in the squad’s only contest of the week.  Following the defeat, the Pioneers’ overall record now stands at 9-3 with a 2-2 mark in the American Mideast Conference South Division.

     Malone pulled ahead 29-22 late in the first half of Saturday’s game before Huntington stormed back with an 8-0 run in the final minutes of the period to take a 30-29 halftime lead.  The Foresters maintained a small advantage throughout most of the second stanza until Malone was able to tie the game at 57-57 with just under two minutes remaining in the contest.  The Pioneer defense was unable to prevent Huntington from converting on their final possessions, though, as the Foresters made five out of six free throw attempts in the final moments to secure the 64-60 victory.  Malone held a significant 42-29 advantage in total rebounds, but could not overcome a season-high 35 turnovers.  Junior forward Cara Shiplett (Northwest H.S.) led the Pioneers with a career-high 25 points (9-11 FG, 7-10 FT) in addition to pulling down eight boards.  Senior forward Nikki Parson (Garaway H.S.) added 11 points, 11 rebounds, and five steals while junior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent/St. Mary H.S.) tallied nine points.

     This week, Malone (9-3, 2-2 AMC S) will travel to Orlando, Florida to participate in the NAIA Disney Challenge.  The Pioneers will play two games at the event, starting with a 4:30 p.m. contest on Monday against the University of Virginia’s College at Wise (1-9, 0-4 AAC).  Then on Tuesday morning, Malone will face Grace (IN) College (6-6, 0-3 MCC) at 8:00 a.m.

     This week’s opponents: Virginia-Wise- Monday’s contest will mark the first-ever meeting between the Pioneers and the Highland Cavaliers. Grace- Malone holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series with the Lancers, including a 58-57 win in the last meeting between the two programs at the Siena Heights (MI) University tournament on December 5, 1998.

     Next Week, the Pioneers will return home after eight straight road games for a 4:00 p.m. contest against Cornerstone (MI) University (7-5) on Friday, December 29th. Then on Saturday, December 30th, the squad will take-on NAIA Division II #1 Indiana Wesleyan University (15-0, 3-0 MCC) at 2:00 p.m.

     Next week’s opponents: Cornerstone- The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series with Malone 2-0, including a 72-65 win (at Cornerstone) last season.  Indiana Wesleyan- The Wildcats and Pioneers split their two previous contests, although Indiana Wesleyan won the most recent meeting between the two programs 82-53 (at Malone) on November 13, 2004.

     Pioneer Notes: Nikki Parson leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game followed by Cara Shiplett at 13.5 and Kellyn Murphy at 10.3…Shiplett paces the squad in rebounding with 9.3 per outing followed closely by Parson at 9.1…Murphy leads the team in assists at 3.4 per game.