Box Score

The Malone University men's basketball team travelled to James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron on Thursday evening and fell by a final score of 113-69 in its exhibition contest against the NCAA Division I Zips.

Akron, the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference's East Division, drained 65.6% of its field-goal attempts on the night, including 16 of 25 (64%) three-pointers.

The Pioneers shot a solid 42.9% from beyond the arc (9 of 21) and grabbed seven steals, but were unable to overcome the Zips' hot shooting and 40-26 advantage on the boards.

A trey by guard Nate Sheppard, a lay-up by center Brian Stone and a bucket by guard Christian Graves helped Malone jump out to an early 7-4 lead.  However, Akron answered with an 18-3 scoring run over the next four and a half minutes to take command of the game.

Graves led all scorers with a game-high 21 points.  The red-shirt junior, who missed nearly the entire 2014-15 campaign with an injury, connected on two of three foul shots and eight of his 15 field goals, which included a trio of three-point baskets. 

Sheppard hit four of his seven triples en route to a total of 16 points.  Forward Neil Gingerich tossed in nine points, forward Brandon Bapst posted four points and four boards while Stone finished with four points and five rebounds.

Guard Antino Jackson paced five Zips players in double figures with 18 points.

The Pioneers will open their regular-season schedule by competing at Cedarville University's Don Callan Classic on Nov. 13-14.  Malone will take on Davis & Elkins College on Nov. 13th at 5:30 p.m. before facing the host Yellow Jackets on Nov. 14th at 7:15 p.m.