Box Score
Although the Malone University men's basketball team battled hard for the entire 40 minutes of play at Grand Valley State University (MI) on Saturday, the Pioneers fell short against the host Lakers by the score of 78-63. With the loss, Malone fell to 6-5 overall and to 4-4 in the GLIAC while GVSU improved to 9-3 and 6-2 in conference play.

Malone led for the first eight minutes of the contest, and held a 16-14 advantage with 12 minutes left in the first frame, before the Lakers hit a three-pointer to take their first lead of the contest at 17-16.  That lead swap was the only lead change of the entire game as GVSU would not surrender its advantage for the remaining 28 minutes.

The Lakers' 40-29 lead late in the first half was their largest of the first 20 minutes before the Pioneers scored the final five points of the half to trim the GVSU lead to 40-34 at the intermission.

The hosts built a double-digit lead early in the second frame but Malone fought back to within six points, at 49-43, with just over 12 minutes left in the contest.  The Lakers then slowly pulled away, though, to secure their 15-point, 78-63 victory.

Guard Isiah Elliott easily paced three Pioneers in twin-figure scoring as he poured in a game-high 28 points, hitting five of 10 attempts from long range while also adding five rebounds and four assists.

Guard Che Richardson tossed in 11 points (including three treys) and also contributed three rebounds and two assists. Forward Cory Veldhuizen also reached double digits with 10 points while also yanking down a team-best eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. In addition, forward Zach Bates netted six points and five rebounds while Christian Graves had six points as well.

Ryan Sabin led GVSU in scoring with 18 points followed by Rob Woodson with 10. Tyrone Lee grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for the Lakers.

Although Malone's overall shooting percentage came in at 34.7% (17-49), the Pioneers stayed in the contest with solid shooting from beyond the three-point arc as they hit 11 of 24 for 45.8%. GVSU connected on 50.8% (31-61) of its attempts overall and drilled six of 21 three-point attempts for 28.6%. Malone held the advantage at the free throw line, converting 18 of 27 for 66.7%, while the Lakers made 10 of 17 for 58.8%. In addition, the hosts held a 38-33 advantage on the boards.

The Pioneers will look to end their three-game GLIAC losing streak (which came against GLIAC North foes with a current combined conference record of 18-5) when they host Lake Erie College (4-7, 1-6 GLIAC) on Thursday, January 10th at 6:00 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available for this contest.