The Malone University men's basketball team held off a comeback attempt by visiting GLIAC opponent Wayne State University (MI) in Malone's Osborne Hall Thursday evening as the Pioneers posted a 77-74 victory.

With the win, Malone improved to 8-11 overall and to 6-7 in the GLIAC while Wayne State fell to 2-14 overall and to 2-11 in GLIAC play.

While Malone's field goal percentage was consistent each half (50% first half, 52% second half), WSU jumped from 39% in the first period up to 63% in the final stanza.  But the Warriors' second-half improvement wasn't quite enough as the Pioneers held off WSU for the three-point win.

Early in the contest, it was the visitors who took control jumping out to a 29-16 lead with 8:06 left in the first half before Malone started to make its first-half move.  From that point (a 13-point deficit), the Pioneers rattled off 13 straight points to tie the game at 29-all before WSU got back in the scoring column.  Malone would keep the pressure on, though, by grabbing a 35-31 halftime lead.

In the second period, the Pioneers slowly pulled out to a 12-point lead, its largest of the game, at 53-41 with 13:00 remaining in the game before the Warriors responded with an impressive 15-2 run to take a 56-55 lead with 8:12 left.  Although the visitors kept within striking distance down the stretch, it would be their only lead of the second half.

In the final seconds of the game, Malone held a 76-71 lead with just 10 ticks left after forward Mitch Spotleson converted both of his free throw attempts.  But with four seconds remaining, WSU netted a three-pointer to cut the lead to 76-74.  A quick foul by the Warriors was followed by a Pioneer miss on the front end of a one-and-one but the hosts grabbed the offensive rebound.  Guard Jalen Miller then hit the first of a one-and-one, then missed the second before WSU's desperation half court shot at the buzzer was well off the mark, sealing the 77-74 Malone win.

For Malone, guard Stephen O'Daniel III tossed in a career-high 23 points, including a five-for-seven effort from long range, to lead the squad while also tallying a team-best four steals and three assists.

Center Brian Stone pocketed 14 points and five rebounds while Spotleson followed with 13 points and a team-high six rebounds.  Guard Nate Sheppard also hit twin figures with 12 points.

For WSU, Michael Lewis paced the team with 23 points while he and Marcus Moore led the Warriors in rebounds with seven apiece.

Malone will next compete at GLIAC opponent University of Findlay (8-9, 5-8 GLIAC) on Saturday in a 3:00 p.m. game.  Live stats and live video will be available.  The game will also be on the radio at ESPN 990 AM and online at www.espn990.com.