Box Score

Freshman Christian Graves scored a career-high 27 points and senior Zach Bates added 13 as the Malone University men's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak by drubbing Ohio Dominican University 90-66 on Saturday afternoon at Osborne Hall.

The Pioneers (12-11 overall, 9-10 GLIAC) raced to an early lead behind Bates, who scored Malone's first six points in the contest. They would lead by as many as nine points before Ohio Dominican's Morgan Jones heated up for the Panthers, eventually leading his team back to all square at 32. However Graves, who connected on a career-high seven three-pointers, sent Malone to the lead at halftime by curling off a screen and drilling a trey at the half's buzzer.

Ohio Dominican (4-20 overall, 1-18 GLIAC) would score a couple buckets in the second half's opening minutes to cut the lead to 37-36 before Malone exploded on a game-clinching 26-4 run. The Pioneers were a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc during the stretch with Graves serving as the main catalyst by drilling four, including one which resulted in a four-point play.

Ten Pioneers got on the score sheet for the game. In addition to Graves and Bates, junior Cory Veldhuizen had a solid afternoon with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists. Junior Che Richardson, who has assumed a heavier load of ball-handling duties since the loss of Isiah Elliott, added nine points.

Malone converted on a season-high tying 11 three-pointers en route to their 90-point scoring output, which also tied their season-high for points in a GLIAC game. They finished the contest 32 of 61 (52%) from the field and 11 of 23 (48%) from three-point range, while Ohio Dominican went 22 of 67 (33%) on field goals and 7 of 16 (44%) on threes.

The Pioneers will travel to Hillsdale College (16-7 overall, 12-7 GLIAC) Thursday, Feb. 21st, for a duel with the Chargers at 8:00 p.m.  Live statistics will be available during the game at http://livestats.prestosports.com/hillsdale/