Box Score

Guard Isiah Elliott scored 19 points and forward Cory Veldhuizen added a season-high 15 points and five rebounds on Saturday afternoon at Osborne Hall as the Malone University men's basketball team (3-2, 1-1 GLIAC) defeated Northern Michigan University 75-66 to earn its first ever Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) win.

The first half was dominated by Malone. With the Pioneers trailing 7-5 early, Elliott knocked down a three-pointer to ignite a 15-1 run and give his team a 20-8 lead. Malone's balanced offense, which featured eight players getting on the scoresheet, continued to expand the lead the rest of the half. A Vince Kazmierczak jumper to close the period sent the Pioneers into the locker room with a 44-26 advantage.

An inspired Northern Michigan (1-4, 0-2 GLIAC) team opened the second half by storming to a 13-1 run to pull the score to 45-39 with 16 minutes remaining. However, Elliott once again would answer the bell. His jumper sparked a 7-0 run to weather the storm and swell the Malone lead back to double digits. The Wildcats would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Forward Daniel Wise contributed 11 points and four rebounds off the bench while Kazmierczak and guard Christian Graves added eight points apiece to go along with Elliot and Veldhuizen's fine evenings

Northern Michigan's Matthew Craggs scored a game-high 22 points and hauled in eight rebounds in the loss.

Malone finished the game shooting 29 of 65 (44.6%) from the field and 3 of 13 (23.1%) from beyond the arc. In comparison, Northern Michigan went 19 of 52 (36.5%) from the floor and 7 of 21 (33.3%) from three. The Pioneers, led by forward Che Richardson's eight boards, outrebounded the Wildcats 42-35 and won the turnover battle with 11 compared to Northern Michigan's 15.

Malone's schedule will resume on Thursday, Dec. 6, when they hit the road to take on Lake Superior State (MI) University (2-3 overall, 0-2 GLIAC) at 5:30 p.m.