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The Malone University men's basketball team stretched its season-opening winning streak to four games on Tuesday evening at Osborne Hall as the squad began American Mideast Conference play with a convincing 96-72 victory over Wilberforce University. The Pioneers never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 25-11 lead nine minutes into the game. Malone then continued to dominate over the remainder of the first half as the squad nailed 7 of 16 (43.8%) three-pointers and forced 13 turnovers over the first 20 minutes to build an insurmountable 53-23 advantage at intermission. The Bulldogs regrouped in the locker room and came back to outscore the Pioneers 49-43 in the second stanza, but it was not nearly enough to overcome the sizable halftime deficit. Malone improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the AMC with the victory while Wilberforce fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Wilberforce held a narrow 45-43 advantage in total rebounds over the course of the game but struggled to hit shots for much of the evening as the Bulldogs converted on just 29 of 73 (39.7%) attempts from the field, one of 10 tries from three-point range, and only 13 of 23 (56.5%) free throws. Malone countered by connecting on 33 of 69 (47.8%) field goals, 13 of 32 (40.6%) threes, and 17 of 23 (73.9%) foul shots. Each team blocked five shots and made five steals.

The balanced Pioneer attack, which featured five players in double figures, was led by guard Kyle Higgins, who came off the bench to knock down six of 11 three-pointers and both of his free throw attempts for a season-high 20 points. Forward Ebiowei Porbeni tossed in 17 points, 13 coming in Malone's dominant first half, to go with eight rebounds and two blocks. Guard Eric Coblentz posted 16 points on six of 12 shooting from the field, including four of nine accuracy from beyond the three-point arc. Forward Cory Veldhuizen tallied 12 points and seven boards while guard Isiah Elliott notched 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Bulldogs were led by forward Chris Olafioye, who registered a game-high 28 points with eight rebounds. Forward Ronald Hightower also had a big night for Wilberforce with 14 points, 16 boards, three assists and three steals.

Malone will look to keep its unblemished record intact when it returns to action this weekend at the WHAC (Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference)/AMC Challenge hosted by Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Pioneers will open play at the event on Friday with an 8:00 p.m. match-up against the host Cardinals. Then on Saturday, Malone will wrap up the weekend with a 1:00 p.m. contest against NAIA DII #25 Siena Heights (MI) University. Both contests will be broadcast on the Malone Sports Network. Catch the action live on WNPQ 95.9 FM or on the internet at www.thelight959.com.