Box Score

Junior guard Isiah Elliott ended a seesaw battle by draining a three-pointer as time expired to give the Malone University men's basketball team a 63-60 win at Northwood (MI) University Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers improved to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with the thrilling victory, completing their weekend road trip to Lake Superior State University and Northwood with a 2-0 record.  The Timberwolves, meanwhile, slipped to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference following the tough loss.

The first half was a neck-and-neck affair that saw the lead change hands five times. Freshman guard Christian Graves, who hit four of five three pointers and finished the game with a career-high 14 points, hit a three late in the first half to give Malone a 31-29 lead at halftime.

Northwood gained control of the game in the second half, using a 14-4 run to take a 49-42 lead with nine minutes remaining and prompting a time-out from Pioneer head coach Tim Walker. His team would respond by going on a 13-0 run out of the timeout to regain the lead 56-49. Junior Vince Kazmierczak scored six of his 10 points during the spurt.

Northwood was the next team to respond in a game that was reminiscent of a prize fight, containing two heavyweights exchanging punches. A 7-0 run over the next 2:14 knotted the score at 56 with 3:18 remaining. Junior Daniel Wise split a pair of free-throws to give Malone a brief lead but a Northwood bucket put the Timberwolves ahead by one. With 1:06 remaining, Graves hit his biggest three-pointer of the night to put the Pioneers up 60-58. Both teams exchanged scoreless possessions before Andrew VanDierenDonck tied the game with a layup with 17 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Elliott's late-game dramatics.

Elliott poured in a game-high 15 points and team-high eight rebounds for the Pioneers to go along with Graves' 14 points and Kazmierczak's 10.  Forward Che Richardson added six points and seven assists.

VanDierenDock led the Timberwolves with 13 points while Will Bowles registered a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Malone shot 37% from the field (21 of 57) and 39% (seven of 18) from three compared to 24 of 67 (36%) and eight of 25 (32%) for the Timberwolves. Perhaps the difference in the contest was the discrepancy at the free-throw line. Malone went 14 of 18 (78%) while Northwood only made four of nine (44%). Northwood held a decisive edge on the glass, 47-36.

The Pioneers will try to win their fourth straight conference game when they host Saginaw Valley State (MI) University (4-2 overall, 2-1 GLIAC) next Saturday, Dec. 15th, at 1:00 p.m.  Live stats will be provided during the contest at http://www.sidearmstats.com/malone/mbball/scoreboard.aspx