Box Score

The Malone University men's basketball team suffered an 82-49 defeat at NCAA Division I Missouri State University Wednesday night.  The contest was part of the Hoops For Hope Challenge, an event sponsored by the Missouri Valley Conference with proceeds benefiting the National Urea Cycle Disorders Foundation.

Malone had opened Hoops For Hope on Monday night in Dallas, Texas with an 81-47 exhibition loss at Southern Methodist University.  The Pioneers (2-1 overall) then travelled to Springfield, Missouri to face the Bears on their home court Wednesday evening.  Missouri State, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, jumped out to a 20-5 advantage as the Pioneers struggled to get on track in the early going, missing their first 11 field-goal attempts before regrouping midway through the first half.

Forward Zach Bates ended the field-goal drought with a bucket at the 9:44 mark of the opening stanza.  Moments later, another basket by Bates started a 10-4 Malone run that pulled the Pioneers to within 24-15 with a little over five minutes remaining in the first half.

However, the Bears (2-2 overall) answered back with a 10-3 surge of their own over the next few minutes, heading to the locker room on top 38-22.  A jumper by Pioneer forward Cory Veldhuizen trimmed the deficit to 39-24 at the start of the second period, but that was as close as Malone would get as Missouri State pulled away for the 82-49 victory.

The Pioneers were unable to get in an offensive ryhthm for much of the evening, ending the contest having connected on 17 of 50 (34%) shots from field, including three of 18 (16.7%) attempts from beyond the three-point arc.  Both teams struggled at the foul line in Wednesday's contest as Malone converted on just 12 of 23 (52%) free throws while the Bears made only six of their 12 (50%) attempts.

Despite its struggles from the charity stripe, Missouri State fared much better from the floor, connecting on 48.5% (32 of 66) of its field goals, including a sizzling 47.6% (10 of 21) of its shots from three-point range.  The Bears also enjoyed a 42-36 advantage in total rebounds while committing just six turnovers.     

Veldhuizen paced Malone with 13 points and seven rebounds.  Forward David Goodwater added 10 points off the bench.  Bates was just shy of double-digits with nine points. 

Anthony Dowling, Marcus Marshall and Christian Kirk each tossed in 15 points apiece to pace MSU. 

The Pioneers' match-up with Missouri State on Wednesday marked Malone's fourth and final contest of the year against NCAA Division I competition as the squad had also faced the University of Akron and Cleveland State University in preseason exhibition games (in addition to Monday's exhibition at SMU).

Malone will return to action next Thursday (Nov. 29) when the squad opens Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play with a 6:00 p.m. home contest against Michigan Tech.  Live statistics and a live video broadcast will be provided during the game.  Click here for links to the multimedia coverage.