Box Score

The Malone University men's basketball team, ranked 17th in the most recent NAIA Division II National Poll, rolled to a 77-61 victory at home on Friday evening in its American Mideast Conference match-up with Houghton (NY) College. The Pioneers took a commanding 44-28 advantage to the locker room at halftime after knocking down over 60% (19 of 31) of their shots from the field over the first 20 minutes, including a five-of-ten performance from beyond the three-point arc. Although Malone's shooting cooled off a little after intermission, the Pioneers managed to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the final stanza en route to the victory. With the 16-point triumph, Malone stretched its winning streak to five games while improving its record to 15-6 overall and 8-1 in the AMC. The Highlanders, meanwhile, dropped to 5-13 overall and 0-9 in the conference following their fourth straight defeat.

Fans attending the contest may have had puzzled looks on their faces when entering Osborne Hall Friday night as both teams on the floor were dressed in Malone uniforms. Houghton forgot to bring along its jerseys for its weekend trip to Canton and so, in order to compete, the Highlanders borrowed the Pioneers' blue road uniforms.

The contest was knotted 19-19 after the first eight minutes before the squad dressed in white took command, rattling off 11 unanswered points to build a 30-19 lead. With just over three minutes remaining in the opening stanza, Houghton cut the margin to 37-28 with a fast-break lay-up. However, this would be the Highlanders final points of the period as a lay-up by forward Cory Veldhuizen, a jumper by forward Che Richardson and a three-pointer by guard Eric Coblentz pushed the Pioneer lead to 16 points at halftime.

Houghton twice cut the deficit to 10 in the second stanza, first at 60-50 and again at 62-52. Malone managed to slam the door shut, though, thanks in part to three straight three-pointers by Coblentz and a pair of two-handed dunks by forward Ebiowei Porbeni.

Coblentz knocked down five of seven threes over the course of the evening, ending the night with a game-high 19 points. Porbeni grabbed 10 rebounds and tossed in 18 points on nine-of-12 shooting from the floor. Veldhuizen added 12 points, five assists and four boards. Forward Jock Rottman posted nine points off the bench. Forward Che Richardson followed with eight points, three assists and three steals while guard Isiah Elliott contributed six points, six assists and four rebounds.

Guards Devin Paige and Ryan Shay each posted 11 points apiece to lead the way for Houghton.

On the evening, Malone knocked down 52.5% (32 of 61) of its field goals, 42.9% (nine of 21) of its treys and 66.7% (four of six) of its free throws. The Highlanders countered by hitting 44.6% (25 of 56) of their shots from the floor, 31.3% (five of 16) of their attempts from beyond the three-point arc and 60% (six of 10) of their foul shots. The Pioneers held a 36-27 advantage in total rebounds, blocked four shots and handed out 20 assists.

Malone will be back in action on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. as it hosts Daemen (NY) College (10-10 overall, 5-4 AMC) in another conference match-up. Fans that cannot be in attendance at Osborne Hall can follow the action from Saturday's game on-line with live statistics. In addition, 2011 Malone Athletics Hall of Fame inductees Kevin Hammons ('88, baseball), Julie (Harrison) Varner ('97, women's cross country and track & field), Olle Sundell ('89, men's tennis), and Jason Wallick ('99, football) will be recognized at halftime of the contest.