Men’s Basketball Tallies 1-1 Record On The Week
The Malone College men’s basketball team came up just short in its upset bid at home against NAIA Division II #4 Cedarville University on Tuesday evening as the visiting Yellow Jackets pulled out a narrow 82-80 victory. The Pioneers then traveled to the University of Rio Grande on Saturday afternoon where they posted a 75-65 win. Following the 1-1 week, Malone’s overall record now stands at 5-2 (0-0 AMC North) on the young season.
In Tuesday’s contest with Cedarville, a free throw by Malone senior forward Tyler Renner (Garaway H.S.) knotted the contest at 80-80 with under a minute remaining. However, on Cedarville’s ensuing trip down the floor, guard Ryan Short knocked down a clutch jumper to put the Yellow Jackets back on top with just 13 seconds left on the clock. After a Pioneer timeout, Renner launched a three-point attempt that just missed. Malone scrambled to grab the rebound but the squad was unable to get off another shot before the buzzer sounded. Both teams made over 50% of their attempts from the field (Cedarville 56.4%; Malone 52.5%) with the Yellow Jackets holding a 35-28 advantage in total rebounds. The Pioneers hit 12 of their 17 free throws in the game but connected on just three of six attempts from the charity stripe in the final two minutes of play.
All five Pioneer starters reached double figures in the contest, led by senior guard Ben Carver (Shelby H.S.), who notched 16 points and four assists. Renner and junior forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Lake H.S.) each tallied 13 points. Senior center Shane Humphrey (Loudonville H.S.) and junior guard Andrew Weaver (Hiland H.S.) followed with 12 points apiece. Humphrey also contributed six assists and six rebounds and Weaver added three steals.
Against Rio Grande on Saturday, the Pioneers trailed 62-60 with just over four and a half minutes to play but then outscored the Redmen 15-3 over the remainder of the game to pull away for the victory. Although Malone committed a season-high 19 turnovers in the contest, the squad made 29 of its 55 (52.7%) shots from the field overall and hit nearly 60% (13-22) of its attempts in the second stanza. Rio Grande held a slim 39-37 advantage in total rebounds but struggled offensively, connecting on just 26 of its 68 (38.2%) field goal attempts. Weaver led four Malone players in double figures with a game-high 18 points. Carver followed with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Humphrey tossed in 15 points and pulled down eight boards while Ferwerda tallied 10 points and five rebounds. Renner scored six points, snagged five rebounds and dished out a career-high seven assists. In addition, sophomore center Ted Lawver (Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) came off the bench to contribute five boards and three blocks.
This week, Malone (5-2, 0-0 AMC North) will participate in just one contest, a 7:30 p.m. match-up with local rival Walsh University (3-1, 0-0 AMC South) at home on Thursday evening. The Cavaliers are currently ranked sixth in the NAIA Division II National Top 25 Coaches Poll.
This week’s opponent: Walsh - The Cavaliers hold a 55-39 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools. The squads split last year’s meetings as Walsh tallied an 80-74 victory in the first contest (at Walsh) before Malone upset the then #2 ranked Cavaliers 79-72 in the 43rd annual Mayors’ Cup game (at Malone).
Pioneer Notes: Ben Carver leads the team in scoring with 18.9 points per game followed by Tyler Renner at 16.3 and Andrew Weaver at 11.7…Renner paces the squad in rebounding with 9.0 boards per outing followed by Shane Humphrey with 5.9 and Carver with 5.1…Humphrey is averaging a team-high 3.3 assists per contest followed by Carver with 3.1…Renner recently moved into the Top 20 on Malone’s all-time scoring list and is currently ranked 19th with 1388 career points…Carver needs just 63 more points to reach 1000 for his Malone career.
Women’s Basketball Falls 84-51 At Shawnee State
The Malone College women’s basketball team traveled to Portsmouth, Ohio on Tuesday evening where the team suffered an 84-51 loss to NAIA Division II #21 Shawnee State University. The Bears never trailed in the contest as they used a 22-6 run midway through the first stanza to take a commanding 45-24 lead at the half. Shawnee State then stretched its advantage to as many as 41 points in the second frame as it pulled away for the 84-51 win. The Bears shot over 52% (35-67) from the field and out-rebounded the visitors by a 37-31 margin. The Pioneers connected on just 16 of 48 shot attempts (33.3%) in the contest and committed a season-high 28 turnovers. Malone, which has faced nationally-ranked opponents in four of its six games so far this year (NAIA Division II #15 Indiana Wesleyan University twice, #21 Shawnee State and #26 Cedarville University), falls to 1-5 overall (0-0 AMC North) with the loss while Shawnee State improves to 2-1 (0-0 AMC North).
For the fifth time in six games, senior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) was Malone’s leading scorer as she finished the contest with nine points. Sophomore guard Amanda Bryan (Carrollton H.S.) followed with eight points while junior guard Katie Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) tossed in six points. Freshman guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and junior forward Nicole Feher (Lutheran West H.S.) added five points and six boards.
This week, Malone (1-5, 0-0 AMC North) will travel to the University of Rio Grande (5-0, 0-0 AMC South) on Tuesday for a 6:00 p.m. contest with the Redwomen. The squad will then host Walsh University (2-3, 0-0 AMC South) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before traveling to Huntington (IN) University (5-1, 0-0 MCC) on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. game with the Foresters.
This week’s opponents: Rio Grande - The Redwomen hold a 36-19 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools. Malone and Rio split last year’s meetings with the Redwomen winning the first contest 83-76 (at Rio Grande) and the Pioneers taking the second game 87-70 (at Malone). Walsh - Malone leads the all-time series 34-28 and has won each of the last three meetings between the two schools. In last season’s contests, the Pioneers posted victories of 60-56 (at Walsh) and 74-72 (at Malone). Huntington - The Foresters have won six of the seven all-time meetings with Malone. The two teams most recently faced off last season as the Foresters posted a 64-60 home victory.
Pioneer Notes: Kellyn Murphy leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game followed by Heather Fenner and Ashley Speicher, who are each averaging 6.8 points per contest…Nicole Feher paces the squad in rebounding with 7.3 boards per outing followed by Kellyn and Katie Murphy, who have each tallied 5.2 rebounds per game…Kellyn Murphy is also averaging a team-high 2.2 assists per contest…Kellyn Murphy recently moved in the Top 25 on Malone’s all-time rebounding list and is currently ranked 25th with 338 career rebounds.
