Men’s Basketball Stretches Winning Streak To Seven Games With Three More Victories Over Break

     The Malone College men’s basketball team tallied victories in all three of its contests over Christmas break to extend its winning streak to seven games.  The Pioneers notched the first of these three wins on Thursday, December 20th with a dominating 96-46 victory on the road against The Ohio State University at Marion.  The squad then kicked off the new year with a pair of wins at Embry-Riddle (FL) University’s Bahama House Shootout in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Malone topped Tennessee Wesleyan College 57-55 on January 1st and then upset NAIA Division II #4 and previously undefeated Embry-Riddle 86-83 in the tournament’s championship game on January 2nd.  Following the trio of victories, the Pioneers’ overall record now stands at 12-4 (0-0 AMC North Division) on the season.
     In the December 20th contest at OSU-Marion, the Scarlet Wave scored the first basket of the game to take a 2-0 lead but it was all Malone the rest of the way as the visitors quickly took control of the contest, building a 52-22 halftime lead en route to the 96-46 final.  The Pioneers shot over 54% (35-54) from the field on the night, drained a season-high 11 three-pointers, and out-rebounded the hosts by a 55-28 margin.  OSU-Marion hit only 14 of its 63 shot attempts (22.2%) in the contest including just 9 of 41 (22.0%) three-point tries.  All 12 Pioneers who played in the game scored and six Malone players reached double figures.  Junior guard Zach Fanning (Garaway H.S.) led the way with 17 points and three assists.  Junior guard Andrew Weaver (Hiland H.S.) followed with 15 points, junior forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Lake H.S.) and senior forward Tyler Renner (Garaway H.S.) each tossed in 13 points, and senior center Shane Humphrey (Loudonville H.S.) notched 12 points.  Other important contributors included sophomore center Ted Lawver (CVCA) with 10 points and junior forward Taurean Dailey (McKinley H.S.), who pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds in his Pioneer debut.

     A pair of career milestones was reached in the game as well, as Renner surpassed 1500 career points and Humphrey eclipsed 500 career rebounds.  Renner is now tied for 14th on Malone’s all-time scoring list with 1505 career points and Humphrey currently ranks 24th on the Pioneers’ career rebounding list with 513 boards.

     In Tuesday’s match-up with Tennessee Wesleyan, the Pioneers and Bulldogs were tied 55-55 with under a minute to play before Humphrey scored in the final seconds to put his squad on top 57-55.  Tennessee Wesleyan quickly moved the ball down the court and launched a final shot but the game-tying attempt was off the mark, allowing the Pioneers to advance to Wednesday’s championship contest against tournament host Embry-Riddle.
     Malone led 26-23 at halftime on Tuesday evening and then extended its advantage to as many as 11 points midway through the second stanza before the Bulldogs stormed back with a 17-6 run that knotted the game at 55.  Tennessee Wesleyan was unable to complete the comeback, however, as Humphrey delivered his clutch bucket from inside the paint to lift the Pioneers to the two-point win.  The Bulldogs struggled from beyond the three-point arc throughout the contest as the squad connected on just three of its 23 (13.0%) three-pointers over the course of the evening, coming up empty on all 16 of its three-point tries in the first half.  Malone also struggled somewhat from three-point range, converting just four of 17 (23.5%) attempts but the squad was able to knock down nine of 12 (75%) free throws and held a 39-30 advantage in total rebounds.  Humphrey and Carver each tossed in 13 points to lead the way for the Pioneers.  Dailey came off the bench to post 11 points and sophomore forward Mark Young (Jackson H.S.) contributed seven points, eight rebounds, and three assists in the first start of his Malone playing career.

     In Wednesday night’s contest against host Embry-Riddle, the Pioneers jumped out to an 18-9 lead midway through the first half 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 of the evening.  Humphrey 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.  Carver also collected accolades for the Pioneers, garnering All-Tournament Team recognition after tallying 26 points (7-14 FG, 0-1 3PT FG, 12-13 FT) and six rebounds in Wednesday’s triumph.  Other important contributors in the upset win included Weaver and Ferwerda, 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 with a 7:30 p.m. contest at home against Daemen (NY) College (7-6 overall, 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…Humphrey recently moved into the Top 50 on Malone’s all-time scoring list and currently ranks 49th with 884 career points.

     The Malone College women’s basketball team suffered a pair of hard-fought defeats over Christmas break before bouncing back to record an eight-point win in its first American Mideast Conference North Division game of the season.   The Pioneers fell 66-39 on the road to NAIA Division II #9 Indiana Wesleyan University on Tuesday, December 18th and then dropped a 70-49 decision to NCAA Division II Wheeling Jesuit (WV) University on the Saturday after Christmas (Dec. 29).  Malone was able to begin the new year on a positive note, though, with an 88-80 triumph over Ursuline College on the road on January 3rd.  After notching a 1-2 record over the break, the Pioneers’ overall record now stands at 3-10 on the season with a 1-0 mark in the AMC North Division.

     Malone’s December 18th meeting with Indiana Wesleyan marked the third time that the Pioneers and Wildcats had faced each other this season as IWU had posted an 80-55 win on November 9th at the Cedarville University Classic and a 44-30 victory on November 17th at Malone’s Tip-Off Classic.  Much like in these earlier meetings,  Malone struggled to get its offense on track in the early going of the December 18th contest as IWU opened up a commanding 36-17 lead at halftime and then maintained a sizable advantage throughout the second stanza en route to the 66-39 final.  Indiana Wesleyan, which won the 2006-2007 NAIA Division II National Championship with a perfect 38-0 record, stretched its winning streak to a remarkable 51 games with the victory.  The Wildcats hit 50% (26-52) of their shots from the field in the contest and held a substantial 34-20 advantage in total rebounds.  The Pioneers, meanwhile, connected on just 15 of their 39 (38.5%) attempts and committed 24 turnovers.  Senior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent/St. Mary H.S.) paced Malone with 11 points. Freshman guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.) followed with eight points and a team-high six rebounds while junior forward Tara Miller (Miami East H.S.) tossed in six points and pulled down four boards.
     Against Wheeling Jesuit on December 29th, the Cardinals built a commanding 42-17 halftime lead and then maintained their sizable advantage throughout the second stanza en route to the convincing victory.  Wheeling Jesuit scored the first basket of the game and then never relinquished the lead over the remainder of the neutral contest which was played at Hiland High School in Berlin, Ohio.  Malone opened the second stanza on a 14-3 run to cut the deficit to 14 points at 45-31 but that was as close as the Pioneers would get as the Cardinals once again pulled away.  Malone made just 33.3% (17-51) of its overall shot attempts from the field and connected on just 10 of 22 (45.5%) free throws.  Wheeling Jesuit, meanwhile, knocked down 30 of 68 (44.1%) field goal attempts on the afternoon and dominated the boards with a 50-31 advantage in total rebounds.  Murphy again paced the Pioneers with 14 points.  Wilson followed with nine points, four rebounds, four steals, and three assists.  Senior guard Heather Fenner (Shelby H.S.) tossed in eight points and senior guard Nicki Sisson (Wayne Trace H.S.) added six points.

     In Thursday’s contest with Ursuline, the Pioneers held a commanding 47-22 advantage at halftime and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the majority of the second stanza before the Arrows went on a late 17-4 run to trim Malone’s advantage to 81-80 with under a minute remaining.  Ursuline was unable to take the lead, though, as Sisson hit a key three-pointer to push the advantage back to four at 84-80.  Following a missed Arrow three-point attempt, Sisson and Murphy each converted a pair of free throws in the final seconds to secure the 88-80 conference win.  The Pioneers’ 88-point outburst marked the squad’s highest offensive output of the season.  Malone also posted its highest overall field-goal percentage of the year (48.4%) after connecting on 31 of 64 attempts.  Ursuline hit 31 of 68 (45.6%) shots from the field, including over 57% (23-40) of its attempts during its strong second-half comeback.  The Arrows also held a 34-30 advantage in the total rebounds but were hindered by 21 turnovers.  Murphy led all scorers with a career-high 29 points (10-15 FG, 1-1 3PT FG, 8-9 FT) in addition to posting five rebounds, four steals and three assists.  Sisson also set a new career-high with 24 points (8-18, 3-6 3PT FG, 5-6 FT).  Miller added 10 points while junior forward Nicole Feher (Lutheran West H.S.) contributed seven points and 11 boards.

     This week, Malone (3-10 overall, 1-0 AMC North) will participate in just one contest, a 5:30 p.m. home match-up with Daemen (NY) College (8-5 overall, 1-0 AMC North) on Saturday.

     This week’s opponent: Daemen- Malone holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools and defeated Daemen by a final score of 67-46 in their most recent meeting (November 17, 2006).

     Pioneer Notes: Kellyn Murphy leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game followed by Tara Miller at 8.1 and Allyson Wilson at 6.6…Nicole Feher paces the team in rebounding with 6.3 boards per outing followed by Murphy at 5.5 and Miller at 5.3…Murphy is also averaging a team-high 1.8 assists per contest…Murphy recently moved into the Top 25 on Malone’s all-time scoring list and currently ranks 22nd with 847 career points.