The Malone University men's basketball team began Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Thursday evening with an 86-72 defeat at Michigan Tech University.

The Pioneers jumped out to an eight-point advantage midway through the first half before the Huskies rattled off nine unanswered points to pull in front 28-27 with five minutes remaining in the opening stanza.

A bucket by Malone forward Mitchell Spotleson brought the visitors' scoring drought to a close, putting the Pioneers back on top by one.  After a lay-up and three-pointer allowed  MTU to pull ahead by six points in the latter stages of the opening period, Pioneer guard Christian Graves ended the first-half scoring by connecting on his fifth three-pointer of the game, sending the teams to the locker room at halftime with Michigan Tech leading 37-34.

In all, Graves scored 19 first-half points by connecting on seven of 13 field goals, including five of seven attempts from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

The contest would remain close through the opening stages of the second half before the Huskies took command, using a 19-4 scoring run to open up a 65-46 advantage midway through the final period.

A Jason Miller three-pointer whittled the hosts' lead to 82-68 with 2:20 remaining, but the Pioneers would get no closer the rest of the way.

Malone Individual Highlights
 -Graves finished with game-highs of 24 points and nine rebounds; the redshirt junior hit six of eight three-pointers overall
-Guard Jay Parker came off the bench to score a season-high 22 points in just 19 minutes; Parker hit 8 of 11 field goals and five of six free throws
-Spotleson added 13 points and five boards
 
Michigan Tech Individual Highlights
-All five MTU starters reached double digits, led by guard Bryan Heath's 22 points
-Forward Kyle Monroe added 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals
-Forward Luke Heller finished with 15 points
 
Game Notes
-Both teams shot exactly 50% from three-point range (MU 11-of-22; MTU 12-of-24)
-The Huskies committed just nine turnovers and outscored Malone 32-20 in the paint
-The Pioneers held a 26-9 edge in bench points
 
Up Next: Malone continues its trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. contest at Northern Michigan University.  Preview Notes for the contest can be viewed at www.malonepioneers.com/gamenotes