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The Malone University men's basketball team, ranked 23rd in the most recent NAIA Division II National Poll, opened play at its own Canton Comfort Inn Tournament on Friday evening at Osborne Hall with a convincing 89-60 victory over Lourdes College. The Pioneers took control from the onset by outscoring the Gray Wolves 20-6 over the first eight and a half minutes of the contest. Malone improved its overall record to 8-4 on the year with the win while Lourdes dropped to 6-9. The Pioneers will take on Grace (IN) College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the tournament's championship contest. The Lancers, who were ranked 17th in last week's NAIA Division II National Poll, topped NAIA DII No. 25 Indiana University East in Friday's opening game by a final score of 96-67.

After falling behind Malone 43-20 at intermission, the Gray Wolves opened the second stanza on a 12-4 run to cut the deficit 47-32. However, the Pioneers quickly regained the momentum, putting the game out of reach by scoring 14 of the game's next 17 points to build a commanding 61-35 advantage with just over 12 minutes remaining.

Malone shot the ball well throughout the contest as the hosts ended the night having made 58.2% (32 of 55) of their shots from the field, 42.3% (11 of 26) of their attempts from beyond the three-point arc and 66.7% (14 of 21) of their tries from the foul line. Lourdes countered by knocking down 24 of 56 (42.9%) field goals, one of eight (12.5%) three-pointers, and 11 of 16 (68.8%) free throws. Malone posted 11 steals and blocked four shots. The Pioneers also held a substantial 19-5 advantage in assists.

Guard Kyle Higgins and forward Jock Rottman each posted 15 points off the bench to pace a balanced Malone attack. Higgins hit six of nine shots from the floor, including three of six treys. Rottman, meanwhile, went five-of-seven from the field and one-of-two from beyond the arc. He also continued his impressive shooting at the charity stripe, hitting all four of his foul shots to improve to 37 of 38 at the line for the season. Now at 97.4% on the year, Rottman continues to have the highest free-throw percentage in all of NAIA Division II. Guards Eric Coblentz and Isiah Elliott both followed with 13 points apiece. In addition to his point total, Elliott also contributed four rebounds and five steals. Forward Cory Veldhuizen added seven points, six rebounds and three assists.

Guard John Washington led the way for Lourdes with 12 points. Forward John Willhite followed with 10 points.

The Canton Comfort Inn Tournament continues on Saturday at Malone's Osborne Hall. The action gets under way at 1:00 p.m. as Lourdes and IU-East square off in the consolation game. Malone and Grace will then follow with the championship contest at 3:00 p.m. Live audio of the championship game will be available on the radio at WNPQ 95.9 FM or streaming on the internet at www.thelight959.com. Fans can also view live stats from the Malone-Grace match-up through this link.