January 2, 2008

Pioneers Upset #4 Embry-Riddle To Capture Tournament Championship

 
The Malone College men’s basketball team knocked off NAIA Division II #4 and previously undefeated Embry-Riddle (FL) University 86-83 on Wednesday evening in the championship game of the Eagles’ Bahama House Shootout.  Malone (12-4 overall, 0-0 American Mideast Conference North Division) extended its winning-streak to seven games with the victory and handed Embry-Riddle (13-1 overall) its first loss of the 2007-2008 campaign.
 
The Pioneers jumped out to a 18-9 lead midway through the first half of Wednesday’s contest, but the Eagles then outscored Malone 31-17 over the remainder of the stanza to take a 40-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.  The two squads battled back and forth at the start of the second frame before a 7-0 run put the Pioneers on top 78-70 with 1:33 remaining on the clock.  Embry-Riddle answered back quickly, outscoring Malone 7-1 over the next 60 seconds to trim the deficit to 79-77.  However, the Pioneers were able to short circuit the Eagles’ comeback bid and hang on for the 86-83 upset win after hitting seven of eight free throws in the final 33 seconds.
 
Although the squad knocked down just two of 11 (18.2%) three-point attempts, Malone excelled inside the arc, hitting over 50% (29-57) of its total shots from the field.  The Pioneers also took advantage of their frequent trips to the charity stripe by connecting on 26 of 35 (74.3%) free throws.  Embry-Riddle forced 18 Malone turnovers, but struggled to get its offense on track, connecting on just 37.3% (25-67) of its shot attempts over the course the evening.
 
Senior center Shane Humphrey (Loudonville H.S.), who tallied 13 points in Tuesday’s win over Tennessee Wesleyan, finished with 21 points (7-8 FG, 7-7 FT), six rebounds, four steals, and three assists.  In recognition of this strong performance during the two-day shootout, Humphrey was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.  Also collecting accolades for the Pioneers was senior guard Ben Carver (Shelby H.S.), who was voted to the All-Tournament Team after tallying 26 points (7-14 FG, 0-1 3PT FG, 12-13 FT) and six rebounds in Wednesday’s triumph over Embry-Riddle.  Other important contributors in the upset win included junior guard Andrew Weaver (Hiland H.S.) and junior forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Lake H.S.), who each tossed in 12 points.  In addition, Weaver also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds.
 
This week, Malone (12-4 overall, 0-0 AMC North) will begin conference play on Saturday (1/12) with a 7:30 p.m. contest at home against Daemen (NY) College (6-5, 0-0 AMC North).
 
This week’s opponent: Daemen- Malone holds an 11-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools.  The Pioneers have won two out of the last three meetings with the Wildcats, including a 68-50 win in last year’s Hoops 4 Healing Classic hosted by Walsh University.
 
Pioneer Notes: Tyler Renner paces the squad in scoring at 16.5 points per game followed closely by Ben Carver at 16.4…Renner also leads the team in rebounding with 8.0 per contest followed by Taurean Dailey with 7.0 and Shane Humphrey with 6.1…Carver is averaging a team-high 2.8 assists per outing.
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