Box Score

Competing against the #1 ranked team in NCAA Division II on Saturday, the Malone University men's basketball team suffered its second straight loss to a nationally-ranked opponent as the Pioneers were defeated by Bellarmine (KY) University by the score of 87-40 at the University of Southern Indiana's Bill Joergens Memorial Classic. Malone had lost to host USI, ranked #12 in NCAA Division II, on Friday 83-47.

With the win, Bellarmine, which had defeated local rival Indiana University-Southeast 79-69 on Friday night in the opening game of the event, improved to 5-0 on the season while Malone fell to 2-3 overall.

The top-ranked Knights came out strong against the Pioneers by scoring the first 13 points of the contest and led by as many as 22 in the first frame before posting a 34-15 halftime lead. Malone continued to struggle against the Knights in the final 20 minutes as Bellarmine shot over 60% from the field in the second half while holding Malone to under 25% from the floor.

For the game, the Pioneers connected on just 14 of 60 attempts from the field for 23.3% while Bellarmine sank 30 of 57 for 52.6%. The Knights were solid from beyond the arc, hitting 10 of 23 attempts for 43.5%, while Malone was held to just three of 21 for 14.3%. At the line, the Pioneers held a slight percentage advantage, 81.8% (9-11) to 81.0% (17-21) but the Knights went to the stripe 10 more times on the day. In addition, Bellarmine collected a 44-31 edge in rebounding.

For Malone, freshman guard Michael Shull paced the team with 12 points while hitting all three of the Pioneers' three-point baskets (in his six three-point attempts). Forward Cory Veldhuizen followed with 10 points while adding six rebounds and two blocks. Point guard Isiah Elliott tallied six points, three assists and a pair of steals while forward Zach Wasson pocketed four points, three rebounds and two steals. In addition, center Bradson Ephraim pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for Malone.

The Knights were led by Luke Sprague who contributed 17 points in the contest while Richie Phares followed with 15. Chris Dowe yanked down a game-high 10 rebounds for Bellarmine.

After the pair of tough setbacks at the Joergens Classic, Malone will be back in action on Tuesday when the Pioneers take on Walsh University (3-0) in an 8:00 p.m. contest on the Cavaliers' home floor. The game can be heard live on WNPQ 95.9 FM with live audio also available at www.thelight959.com.