February 9, 2008

Malone Defeats Point Park (PA) For The Third Time This Season

 
The Malone College men’s basketball team held off a late rally by Point Park (PA) University at Osborne Hall on Saturday evening to record an 81-75 American Mideast Conference North Division victory.
 
Malone led 38-28 at halftime and then stretched its advantage to as many as 14 points early in the second frame before a late 8-0 Point Park run cut the hosts’ lead to 66-65 with 3:24 remaining.  A pair of free throws by senior guard Ben Carver (Shelby H.S.) and a lay-up by junior forward Taurean Dailey (McKinley H.S.) then pushed Malone’s advantage back to five points moments later at 70-65.  The two teams then traded baskets over the next several possessions before a lay-up by senior center Shane Humphrey (Loudonville H.S.) put the hosts on top 77-72 with 37 seconds showing on the clock.  Dan Muto answered back on Point Park’s next trip down the floor, however, with his third three-pointer of the night to pull the visitors back to within two at 77-75.  Point Park quickly fouled Dailey on the ensuing inbounds play, sending the 6’4” forward to the foul line.  Daily drained both of the clutch free throws and then immediately forced a Point Park turnover as the visitors tried to move up the court.  Following a Malone timeout, junior guard Zach Fanning (Garaway H.S.) added a lay-up with 16 ticks left on the clock to put the contest out of reach at 81-75.
 
The six-point triumph gave Malone its third victory of the season over Point Park (Malone also defeated Point Park 80-67 on December 8th and 99-87 on January 22nd) and improved the squad’s record to 17-6 overall and 5-1 in the AMC North.  With the loss, Point Park dropped to 13-11 overall and 3-4 in the division. 
 
Malone, which has now won 12 out of its last 14 contests, connected on 47.1% (24 of 51) of its overall shot attempts on the night, made 27 of 35 (77.1%) free throws, and grabbed 10 steals.  Point Park, meanwhile, struggled somewhat from the field, hitting just 25 of its 71 (35.2%) overall shots, but held a 49-33 advantage on the boards with 28 offensive rebounds.
 
Carver posted 20 points (5-10 FG, 2-5 3PT FG, 8-11 FT), seven rebounds, three assists and two steals for Malone.  Renner also notched 20 points (5-11 FG, 2-4 3PT FG, 8-10 FT) to go with five rebounds and three assists.  Dailey came off the bench to score 11 points and pull down five boards while Humphrey tossed in 10 points and handed out four assists.
 
Muto paced Point Park with 17 points and nine rebounds.  John Geiger and Chivas Whipple followed with 12 points apiece.
 
This week, Malone (17-6 overall, 5-1 AMC North) will play back-to-back games in New York with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Daemen College (15-7 overall, 5-1 AMC North) on Friday evening followed by a 4:00 p.m. game at Roberts Wesleyan College (8-16 overall, 3-4 AMC North) on Saturday afternoon. 
 
This week’s opponents: Daemen- Malone holds an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools. The Pioneers and Wildcats are currently tied atop the AMC North Division standings with identical 5-1 records in conference play, although Daemen defeated Malone 84-79 at Osborne Hall earlier this season (January 12th).  Roberts Wesleyan- The Pioneers lead the all-time series 11-7 and defeated the Raiders 77-73 earlier this season (January 19th) at Malone.  The Pioneers have won three out of the last four meetings between the two schools.
 
Pioneer Notes: Ben Carver paces the team in scoring at 16.7 points per game followed closely by Tyler Renner at 16.6 and Shane Humphrey at 11.5…Renner leads the squad in rebounding with 8.3 boards per outing followed by Humphrey with 5.6 and Carver with 5.0…Carver is also averaging a team-high 2.9 assists per contest…Humphrey needs just 18 more points to reach 1000 for his Malone playing career.
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