Jan. 29 (Tue.) - Women's Basketball home against Carlow (PA) University; 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 1-2 (Fri.-Sat.) - Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field at the University of Akron Open; Fri.-5:00 p.m.; Sat.-10:00 a.m.
Feb. 2 (Sat.) - Women's Basketball home against Notre Dame (OH) College; 5:30 p.m.
- Men's Basketball home against Notre Dame (OH) College; 7:30 p.m.
Men's Basketball - Malone defeats:
Point Park (PA) University 99-87
Houghton (NY) College 66-61
CURRENT RECORD: 15-5 (3-1 AMC North)
Women's Basketball - Malone defeats:
Point Park (PA) University 64-62
Malone loses to:
Houghton (NY) College 64-53
CURRENT RECORD: 5-13 (3-3 AMC North)
Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field - Malone competed at the University of Findlay Classic last weekend and several athletes posted NAIA national qualifying marks
Women’s Basketball Rallies To Beat Point Park Before Falling To Houghton
The Malone College women’s basketball team split a pair of American Mideast Conference North Division match-ups on the road last week as the squad tallied a 64-62 win at Point Park (PA) University on Tuesday evening before falling to Houghton (NY) College on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 64-53. Following the 1-1 week, the Pioneers’ record now stands at 5-13 overall with a 3-3 mark in the AMC North.
In Tuesday’s game at Point Park, Malone overcame a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes of the contest to rally for the narrow victory. Malone trailed 56-46 with about four and half minutes left in the game but then outscored Point Park 18-6 over the remainder of regulation to post the two-point triumph. A lay-up by junior forward Tara Miller (Miami East H.S.) tied the game at 62-62 in the final minute and Point Park then turned the ball over on its ensuing trip down the floor. Freshman guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.) was fouled on Malone’s next possession and quickly gave her squad the lead after nailing two clutch free throws. The hosts quickly took the ball down the court and launched a go-ahead three-point attempt in the final moments but the shot was off the mark, allowing Malone to escape with the thrilling 64-62 come-from-behind victory.
Malone held a 29-23 lead at halftime before a 13-4 Point Park run put the hosts on top 42-33 midway through the second half. Point Park then maintained a sizable advantage until Malone launched its comeback in the final minutes. Malone made 33.3% (22-66) of its shots from the field, including two of nine (22.2%) tries from beyond the three-point arc. Point Park fared a little better, connecting on 28 of its 72 (38.9%) overall shots from the field, including over 40% (5-12) of its three-pointers. Malone trailed 50-48 in total rebounds but attempted 28 free throws on the evening compared to just two attempts for Point Park (Malone made 18 of those 28 (64.3%) free throws while Point Park split its two attempts).
Wilson and senior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) each scored 15 points to pace Malone. Wilson also posted six rebounds, two steals, and two assists in the victory and made all six of her free throw attempts during her team’s late scoring run. Murphy notched five of her points in the final minutes while also contributing nine rebounds, thee assists, and three steals on the evening. Junior forward Nicole Feher (Lutheran West H.S.) added 10 points and six rebounds and Miller finished the night with nine points and 17 boards.
Against Houghton on Saturday, the Pioneers trailed 35-29 at intermission but then outscored the Highlanders 8-0 over the first six minutes of the second half to take a 37-35 advantage. The two teams traded the lead back and forth over the next several possessions before Houghton went on an 11-1 run to pull ahead 52-45 with under five minutes remaining. Malone cut the deficit to four points at 55-51 moments later but the Highlanders then outscored the Pioneers 9-2 in the final three minutes to secure the 64-53 AMC North victory.
Malone struggled from the field throughout the game, connecting on 29% (18 of 62) of its overall shot attempts, including six of their 28 (21.4%) second-half field goal tries. Although Houghton was held without a made field goal for the first seven minutes of the second half, the Highlanders still managed to shoot 45.3% (29 of 64) from the field on the afternoon. Malone held a 47-43 advantage in total rebounds but Houghton’s stingy defense blocked nine shots, scooped up five steals, and forced 15 Pioneer turnovers.
Murphy led the way for Malone with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Feher followed with nine points and ten boards while Wilson notched four points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
This week, Malone (5-13 overall, 3-3 AMC North) will host a pair of AMC North contests. The squad will open play on Tuesday with a 5:30 p.m. game against Carlow (PA) University (3-15 overall, 1-6 AMC North) before facing off with Notre Dame (OH) College (16-3 overall, 6-0 AMC North) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
This week’s opponents: Carlow- The Pioneers have won all eight of their previous meetings with the Celtics, including a 67-61 win at Carlow earlier this season (January 15th). Notre Dame- Malone holds a 24-4 lead in the all-time series with the Falcons and has won each of the last nine contests between the two schools. The squads last met on November 10, 2001 at Notre Dame as the Pioneers tallied a 75-63 victory.
Pioneer notes: Kellyn Murphy leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game followed by Tara Miller at 8.9 and Allyson Wilson at 7.1…Miller paces the squad in rebounding with 8.3 boards per outing followed by Nicole Feher with 6.6 and Murphy with 5.9…Murphy is also averaging a team-high 1.9 assists per contest.
Men’s Basketball Picks Up Two More Road Victories
The Malone College men’s basketball team registered a pair of American Mideast Conference North Division road wins last week as the squad downed Point Park (PA) University 99-87 on Tuesday evening and then outlasted Houghton (NY) College on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 66-61. With the 2-0 week, the Pioneers improved to 15-5 overall and 3-1 in the AMC North. Malone has now won 10 straight games away from Osborne Hall and has posted victories in 10 out of its last 11 contests overall.
Against Point Park on Tuesday, Malone shot nearly 60% (16-27) from the field in the opening stanza to build a 52-46 halftime lead. Point Park twice trimmed the deficit to five points in the opening minutes of the second half but the hosts got no closer over the remainder of the contest as Malone stretched its lead to as many as 14 points in the final frame to pull away for the 99-87 victory. Malone made 53.4% (31-58) of its overall field goal attempts, including eight of 16 (50%) tries from three-point range. The visitors also held a 42-32 advantage in total rebounds and made 29 of their 39 (74.4%) free throws. Point Park drained 32 of 75 (42.7%) shots from the field, including 12 of 27 (44.4%) three-pointers, but the hosts attempted only 12 free throws compared to Malone’s 39 (Point Park made 11 of those 12 (91.7%) shots from the charity stripe).
Senior guard Ben Carver (Shelby H.S.) led a balanced Malone offensive attack with 20 points (4-7 FG, 1-1 3PT FG, 11-11 FT) and three assists. Junior forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Lake H.S.) followed with 19 points. Senior forward Tyler Renner (Garaway H.S.) recorded 18 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks for his sixth double-double of the season while senior center Shane Humphrey (Loudonville H.S.) notched 15 points and six boards.
In Saturday afternoon’s contest at Houghton, Malone shot nearly 60% from the field to notch a 66-61 victory. The Pioneers trailed by six points late in the first half but then outscored the Highlanders 7-0 over the final two minutes of the opening stanza to take a 31-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. Although Houghton kept things close throughout the second stanza, Malone never relinquished its lead, thanks in large part to the fact that the Pioneers made 61.9% (13-21) of their field goal attempts in the final frame. The hosts made things interesting in the final minute as the Highlanders cut Malone’s advantage to just two points at 63-61 with 39 seconds remaining. However, Humphrey pushed the lead back to two points at 65-61 after nailing two clutch free throws with just under 30 ticks remaining on the clock. Houghton launched a three-point attempt on its next trip down the floor, but the shot was off the mark and, after Carver snagged the rebound, junior forward Taurean Dailey (McKinley H.S.) locked up the 66-61 triumph with another free throw.
Although Malone connected on just three of 12 (25%) three-point attempts on the afternoon, the Pioneers sizzled from inside the arc, hitting a season-high 58.7% (27 of 46) of their overall shots from the field. Houghton, meanwhile, knocked down eight of 22 (36.4%) three-point tries but converted on only 22 of its 57 (38.6%) overall field goal attempts. The hosts pulled down 10 offensive rebounds but trailed Malone 31-26 in total boards.
Carver paced four Pioneers in double-figures with 18 points in addition to dishing out four assists and snagging three rebounds. Humphrey followed with 14 points while Renner posted his third straight double-double with 12 points and 13 boards. Other important contributors for Malone included Ferwerda, who registered 10 points, and sophomore center Ted Lawver (CVCA), who came off the bench to tally seven points.
This week, Malone (15-5 overall, 3-1 AMC North) will participate in just one contest, a 7:30 p.m. home match-up on Saturday evening against current AMC North Division leader Notre Dame (OH) College (10-11 overall, 3-0 AMC North).
This week’s opponent:
Notre Dame- The Pioneers have won all four of their previous meetings with the Falcons. Malone defeated Notre Dame (at Malone) last season (November 30, 2006) by the final score of 92-88.
Pioneer notes: Ben Carver paces Malone in scoring at 16.6 points per game followed closely by Tyler Renner at 16.3 and Shane Humphrey at 11.4…Renner leads the squad in rebounding with 8.6 boards per outing followed by Humphrey with 5.8 and Taurean Dailey with 5.1…Carver is also averaging a team-high 2.9 assists per contest…With 12 points in Saturday’s game, Renner passed Shane Conwell (played from 2001-2005) on Malone’s all-time scoring list and now ranks 11th with 1568 career points…With his 13-rebound performance on Saturday, Renner also moved up on the Pioneers’ all-time rebounding list and currently is tied with Phil Marzick (played from 1971-1975) for 7th place with 773 career boards…Carver also moved up on both the all-time scoring and rebounding lists this week as he climbed into the Top 40 (currently ranks 35th) in scoring with 1137 career points and the Top 50 (currently ranks 50th) in rebounding with 355 career boards…Humphrey needs 56 more points to reach 1000 for his Pioneer playing career.
Indoor Track & Field Teams Compete At Findlay Classic; NAIA Qualifying Marks Posted
The Malone College men's and women's indoor track & field teams competed at the University of Findlay Classic last weekend and several Pioneer student athletes posted NAIA national qualifying marks in the process.
For the women, Laura McElrath (Sr., Tallmadge H.S.) notched an NAIA automatic qualifying mark in the pentathlon as she finished third at the meet with 3181 total points. Megan Patton (Jr., Perry H.S.) posted an NAIA provisional qualifying time of 9.39 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles (8th place) while the women's 4x800-meter relay unit of Kim Winton (Jr., Medina H.S.), Kayleigh Bildstein (Fr., Madison H.S.), Megan Miller (Fr., Crestwood H.S.) and Sarah Hines (So., Northmor H.S.) also collected an NAIA provisional qualifying time of 9:52.25 (sixth place).
Other solid efforts for the women included Vallie Scott's (Jr., West Branch H.S.) third-place finish in the 400-meter dash (1:00.45) and Bildstein's sixth-place finish in the 1000 meters (3:07.75).
For the men's team, Brad Sinick (Sr., Field H.S.) earned an NAIA automatic qualifying time in the 3000-meter race walk by taking first-place in a time of 14:34.31.
The men's team also had two athletes qualify for NAIA indoor nationals in the heptathlon. Brady West (Sr., West Muskingum H.S.), who had posted an even higher auto qualifying mark earlier this season, qualified automatically again with a total of 4634 points (third place) while Shane McLaughlin (So., Caldwell H.S.) qualified provisionally with 3971 points.
This week, the Malone teams will compete at the University of Akron Open on Friday (5:00 p.m.) and Saturday (10:00 a.m.).
