Women's Basketball - Malone loses to:
                                           Tiffin University  69-68 (OT)
                                           Cedarville University  71-62
                                   CURRENT RECORD:  18-10  (10-6 AMC South)

                                    
Men's and Women's Track & Field - Malone competed at the Kent State Tune-Up last Saturday and numerous athletes qualified for the NAIA indoor national meet

 

Men's Tennis - Malone defeats:
                               Oberlin College  5-4
                        CURRENT RECORD:  3-0

 

Men’s Basketball Posts 1-1 Record On The Week; Eliminated From AMC Postseason Contention But Will Participate In NCCAA Playoffs

      With its AMC postseason hopes still on the line last Thursday, the Malone College men’s basketball team recorded a convincing 84-65 victory over Tiffin University at home that night (the contest was originally scheduled for last Tuesday evening but was postponed until Thursday due to weather).  Just moments after the win, however, the squad learned that Ohio Dominican University, the team the Pioneers were battling with for the fifth and final American Mideast Conference South Division playoff spot, had squeaked out a 73-72 win on the road over Urbana University and therefore locked up fifth place in the AMC South Division standings, thus ending Malone’s AMC postseason aspirations.     
     The Pioneers concluded their regular season on the road Saturday with a narrow 86-83 loss to NAIA Division II #15 Cedarville University.  Malone finished with a final regular-season overall record of 17-13 and a 7-11 mark in the AMC South.  Although the Pioneers failed to qualify for the AMC conference tournament, the squad will participate in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) regional tournament.  Dates, opponents and times for the NCCAA East region tournament contests will be announced in the next few days.
     In Thursday’s senior night contest against Tiffin, the Dragons held a 24-18 lead midway through the opening frame before Malone stormed back, outscoring the Dragons 24-10 over the remainder of the first period to take a 42-34 halftime lead.  Tiffin was unable to overcome this deficit in the second stanza as Malone pulled away for the 84-65 win.  The Pioneers shot over 53% (32-60) from the field during the game and held a 35-32 advantage over the Dragons in total rebounds.  Junior guard Ben Carver (Shelby H.S.) tied a personal career-high in the contest with 26 points (9-12 FG, 2-3 3PT FG, 6-6 FT) in addition to pulling down seven boards.  Senior guard Jesse Schlabach (Lake H.S.) added 10 points, four assists and four steals while senior guard Chris Miller (Hiland H.S.) came off the bench to tally 10 points.  Junior post player Shane Humphrey (Loudonville H.S.) and sophomore forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Lake H.S.) tallied eight points apiece with junior post player Tyler Renner (Garaway H.S.) also contributing eight points and a game-high eight rebounds.
     Saturday’s game with Cedarville remained close throughout with the Yellow Jackets holding a 48-43 advantage at the half.  Cedarville stretched its lead to as many as 11 points at 80-69 with just over four minutes remaining in the contest before Malone stormed back with a 13-3 run that cut the Yellow Jacket’s advantage to 83-82 with just 38 seconds left on the clock.  Cedarville then hit a pair of free throws to push its lead to three at 85-82.  Malone hit one of two tosses from the charity stripe on its next trip down the floor but the Yellow Jackets scooped up the rebound and then hit one of two free throws to push their advantage back to three at 86-83.  The Pioneers launched a desperation shot at the buzzer in an attempt to tie the game but the long three-point attempt was off the mark, allowing Cedarville to escape with the narrow victory.  Renner led Malone with 27 points (11-21 FG, 2-3 3PT FG, 3-4 FT) and 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season.  Humphrey added 22 points, Ferwerda tallied nine points and four assists, while senior forward James Hannum (Massillon Washington H.S.) posted nine points.  Carver contributed eight points and nine boards although Cedarville held a 47-42 advantage in total rebounds.
     Malone Notes: Tyler Renner leads the team in scoring (ranked sixth in the AMC) at 17.4 points per game followed by Ben Carver at 14.6, Jesse Schlabach at 12.8, and Shane Humphrey at 11.2…Renner also paces the squad in rebounding (ranked fifth in the AMC) with 7.8 boards per outing followed by Humphrey with 6.2…Carver leads the team in assists with 3.0 per contest.

     The Malone College women’s basketball team entered last week on a five-game winning streak but lost its last two contests and did not qualify for the AMC postseason (the team will also not compete in the NCCAA East regional playoffs).  Following their win over the University of Rio Grande on February 10th, the Pioneers were tied for third place in the American Mideast Conference South Division standings and still even had a chance to host a first-round AMC playoff contest.  But, due to the fact that there were many teams within one game of each other battling for the final playoff spots, the two losses cost the Pioneers a playoff berth.  A hard-fought 69-68 overtime loss to Tiffin University at home on Thursday and a 71-62 loss on the road against NAIA Division II #4 Cedarville University on Saturday ended Malone's postseason hopes. 

     Malone finished the season with an 18-12 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the AMC South (in a three-way tie with Tiffin University and Shawnee State University for the final two AMC playoff spots).  The Dragons and Bears both held tiebreakers with the Pioneers, though, and therefore earned the two remaining conference tournament berths because Tiffin and Shawnee State both possessed better records in the head-to-head series amongst the three teams.
    Thursday’s pivotal game against Tiffin remained close throughout the first period with the Pioneers holding a slim 34-33 advantage at halftime. The Dragons pulled ahead midway through the second stanza, stretching their lead to as many as 10 points at 58-48 with just under six minutes remaining in the contest.  Malone then fought back into the game with a 12-2 run over the next five minutes that knotted the score at 60.  Tiffin was then unable to convert on their final possession of regulation giving the ball back to the Pioneers for a shot to win the game.  Malone’s ensuing three-point attempt at the buzzer was just off the mark, though, forcing the game into overtime.  The Dragons quickly pulled ahead in the opening minutes, scoring the first five points of the extra period, but Malone once again fought back to take a 68-67 lead on a bucket by junior forward Cara Shiplett (Northwest H.S.) with 1:31 remaining.  Tiffin was able to reclaim the advantage moments later, though, at 69-68 after scoring on their next trip down the floor.  The Dragons then held Malone scoreless on its final two possessions of the game as the Pioneers just missed another last-second shot attempt right before the buzzer sounded, allowing Tiffin to escape with the crucial 69-68 victory.  Senior forward Nikki Parson paced Malone with a game-high 24 points (10-16 FG, 0-1 3PT FG, 4-4 FT), eight rebounds and four steals.  Shiplett followed with 17 points, junior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent/St. Mary H.S.) added nine points and five boards, while junior guard Heather Fenner (Shelby H.S.) contributed eight points and five rebounds.
     Cedarville took the lead at 7-6 with 14 minutes remaining in the opening frame of Saturday’s contest and then never relinquished its advantage over the remainder of the game.  The Yellow Jackets led 39-28 at halftime and then stretched their lead to as many as 16 points in the second stanza as they posted  the 71-62 victory.  Parson paced the Pioneers with 17 points and 11 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season.  Shiplett followed with 13 points while sophomore forward Tara Miller (Miami East H.S.) and senior forward Jen Miday (North Canton Hoover H.S.) tallied seven points apiece.  Sophomore guard Katie Murphy (St. Vincent/St. Mary H.S.) contributed a career-high six assists.
     Malone Notes: Nikki Parson led the team in scoring this season (ranked fifth in AMC) with 17.4 points per game followed by Cara Shiplett at 14.8 and Kellyn Murphy at 9.1…Parson also paced the squad in rebounding (ranked fourth in the AMC) with 9.0 boards per outing followed by Shiplett (who ranked tenth in the AMC) with 7.9…Murphy led the team in assists with 2.8 per contest…Parson led the AMC in free throw percentage this year at 84.9%.

Numerous Men's, Women's Track & Field Athletes Qualify For NAIA Indoor National Meet At Kent State Tune-Up Meet Saturday; Malone Records Broken

 

     The Malone College men's and women's indoor track & field teams competed at the Kent State University Tune-Up meet last Saturday and numerous Pioneer athletes qualified for the NAIA indoor national meet with their performances.  In addition, several Malone records were broken as well.

     For the women's team, Vallie Scott (So., West Branch H.S.) set a new Malone record in the 300-meter dash by posting a time of 42.07 (fourth-place finish).  Kim Winton (So., Medina H.S.) also set a Malone mark, and qualified for NAIA nationals, in the 600 meters with a time of 1:39.17 (second-place finish).  In addition, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Winton, Megan Patton (So., Perry H.S.), Brittany Davies (Sr., Cedarville H.S.) and Scott set a new Malone record and qualified for nationals with a time of 3:59.61.
     Others who posted NAIA national qualifying marks for the women were Holly Motter (So., Mt. Union, PA) in the triple jump (3rd; 36' 7.5"), Davies in the 1000 meters (4th; 3:09.61), Kalie Hauenstine (Fr., Ashland H.S.) in the 5000 meters (6th; 18:26.64) and Laura McElrath (Jr., Tallmadge H.S.) in the 55-meter hurdles (6th; 8.76).
     Other top performances for the women included Faith Nicholson (Sr., McMurray, PA) and Motter's tie for sixth-place in the high jump at 5' 1".
     For the men, Ryan Kienzle (Jr., GlenOak H.S.) and Nik Schweikert (So., Beavercreek H.S.) each posted NAIA national qualifying times in the one-mile run, respectively, with times of 4:18.37 (11th) and 4:18.76 (12th).
     Justin Baum (Jr., Kenston H.S.) also notched a qualifying time in the 3000 meters in 8:42.13 (11th) while Evan Gaynor (Fr., Delta H.S.) also qualified in the 5000 meters (6th; 15:22.90).  In addition, Chad Armstrong (Sr., Ashtabula H.S.) qualified in the 35 lb. weight throw (9th; 52' 11").
     Other top efforts for the men included Bryan Krieger (Fr., Cuyahoga Falls H.S.) in the 300 meters (5th; 36.43), Jon Easterling (So., Ashtabula H.S.) in the 600 meters (3rd; 1:23.70) and Jay Brueckner (Jr., Crestview H.S.) in the 600 meters (4th; 1:24.70)     
     This week, the teams will compete at the Mt. Union College Invitational on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Men's Tennis Team Knocks Off Oberlin 5-4; Improves To 3-0 On Season

 

     The Malone College men's tennis team ran its string of consecutive victories to three to open the 2007 season as the squad defeated a solid NCAA Div. III Oberlin College team on the road last Saturday by the score of 5-4.
     Scores for the match were as follows:

#1 Jason Christman (Sr., McKinley H.S.)    L 6-3, 6-4

#2 Kyle Bowers (So., Norwalk H.S.)           L 6-2, 6-3

#3 Tim Springirth (So., Erie, PA)                   W 6-1, 6-4

#4 Nathaniel Rodd (Fr., Canton, OH)          W 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

#5 Dan Yard (Jr., Louisville H.S.)                L 6-1, 7-6

#6 Tim Frazier (Fr., Beaver Falls, PA)        W 6-0, 6-3

#1 Bowers/Springirth                                  L 8-4
#2 Christman/Rodd                                      W 8-5                 

#3 Yard/Frazier                                          W 9-8
     This week, the team is idle and will next compete on Monday, February 26th at Mt. Union College at 6:00 p.m.