The Malone University men's basketball team takes on Lake Erie College on Thursday, January 11th at 6:00 pm in its lone game of the week. 

The Pioneers, now 10-6 overall and 3-5 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, enter the week in sole position of eighth place in the conference standings and would have the final playoff spot if the postseason started today. Lake Erie (9-6 overall, 4-3 G-MAC) comes into the week in a three-way tie for fourth place, sharing a 4-3 record with Alderson Broaddus University and Kentucky Wesleyan College.
 
GameDay
1/11 Malone vs. Lake Erie – 6:00 pm

Thursday's game will be streamed live at: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
The contest will also air on ESPN 990 AM radio and www.espn990.com/listen.php
 
Promotions
Thursday's contest against Lake Erie will feature a "Rock the Hall" theme as the Pioneers face the Storm during a men's and women's basketball doubleheader. In addition to rock music played throughout the night, there will be contests and prizes for Malone students in attendance.
 
Series History
Although the two teams have met a total of 21 times, Thursday's contest will mark the first Great Midwest Athletic Conference meeting.    The Pioneers lead the all-time series 15-6 and defeated the Storm 83-71 in their most recent match-up at the Gannon University Tournament in November of 2016.  The squads split their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference meetings during the 2015-16 season.  Lake Erie defeated Malone in Painesville 70-69 before the Pioneers topped the Storm 73-68 at Osborne Hall. 
 
Malone Notes
-The Pioneers tallied a 1-2 record in Great Midwest action last week, falling to Cedarville University and Trevecca Nazarene University before bouncing back in a big way with an 88-58 victory at Kentucky Wesleyan.  The 30-point defeat marked the largest conference loss for the Panthers since 1995 and is believed to be the worst home loss for KWC since 1956!
-Malone hit 10 three-pointers in the victory at Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday, marking the 10th time this year that the Pioneers have reached double-digits in made three-pointers.  Malone currently leads the Great Midwest and ranks 19th nationally with an average of 11.1 made treys per contest.  The Pioneers are also tops in the conference in three-point accuracy, having made 39.3% of their attempts from long range
-The Pioneers are averaging 80.1 points on the season, the third-best in the conference, while limiting their opponents to 69.3 points per game.  Their average scoring margin of +10.8 is third best in the Great Midwest
-Guard Ty Jordan totaled 20 points in the win at Kentucky Wesleyan – the eighth time this year that he has reach the 20-point mark.  Jordan continues to lead the Great Midwest in scoring at 21.1 points per contest.  He also ranks second in the conference and 14th in NCAA Division II in three-pointers made per game (3.4).  Jordan's 41.5% accuracy from beyond the arc is second-best in the Great Midwest.  He ls also third in the conference in free-throw percentage (84.2%), fourth in steals (1.5 per game) and sixth in assists (3.9).
-Guard Nate Sheppard posted 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists on Saturday.  The redshirt junior is now just 13 points away from 1,000 for his career.  He currently ranks sixth in the conference in scoring at 17.0 points per outing and has made over 36% (38 of 105) of his three-pointers this season
-Forward Mitchell Spotleson tallied 18 points and seven rebounds on Saturday while knocking down four of seven three-pointers.  The senior is averaging 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per night and scored 14 points in last year's victory against Lake Erie
-Forward Djuro Pantos leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference in rebounding with an average of 7.3 boards per game.  He scored 10 points on Saturday and is currently fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 7.3 points per contest
-Guard Daylan Haynie had a huge game in last year's victory against the Storm, scoring 16 points while dishing out six assists and grabbing three steals.  The sophomore had nine points and three assists against KWC on Saturday and is currently third in the conference with an average of 4.9 assists per outing
 
Lake Erie Notes – Roster | Schedule | Stats
-The Storm won six of their seven games in December before opening January with six-point home losses to Hillsdale College and the University of Findlay
-Lake Erie ranks second in the conference in rebounding margin (+6.1) and third in blocked shots (3.7 per game)
-Guard Gabe Kynard leads Lake Erie and ranks ninth in the Great Midwest in scoring at 14.7 points per game.  Kynard also paces the Storm in rebounds (5.9 per game), assists (3.2 apg) and steals (1.0 spg).
-In conference games, Kynard is averaging 15.9 points and 6.6 boards while shooting over 53% from the field
-Guard Jordan Humphrey is Lake Erie's second-leading scorer at 9.9 points per outing
-Forward Ryan Middndorf has made 40% of his three-pointers (32 of 80) and is averaging 8.7 points per contest
-Forward Lamont Rhodes has blocked 18 shots on the season.  He is also averaging 6.5 points per game overall