The Malone University men's basketball team suffered a 68-67 defeat in its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Northern Michigan University on Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers took a 37-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime after forcing nine turnovers and limiting the Wildcats to 36.4 % shooting over the first 20 minutes.

Malone's lead ballooned out to as many as 14 points in the early stages of the second period before NMU came roaring back, outscoring the Pioneers 21-4 over the next seven and a half minutes to pull ahead 49-46.

The contest would then remain close over the final 10 minutes with neither team leading by more than four the rest of the way. The Wildcats took a 66-62 advantage on a lay-up with approximately 80 seconds to go before Malone guard Stephen O'Daniel III nailed a clutch three-pointer to pull MU back within one.  After a missed jumper by NMU, forward Neil Gingerich's lay-up gave the Pioneers a 67-66 lead with 14 ticks showing on the clock.

The Wildcats quickly advanced the ball up the floor before a foul was called with 7.5 to go.  Northern Michigan's Naba Echols then calmly sank both ends of the 1-and-1 at the foul line to put the hosts back in front, 68-67.

Malone's potential game-winning shot attempt was knocked out of bounds with 0.7 remaining.  The Pioneers then had a chance with the ball under their own hoop, but Northern Michigan managed to swat away the inbounds pass, preserving the narrow victory.

Malone Individual Highlights
-O'Daniel III tossed in a season-high 17 points
-Guard Christian Graves posted 13 points, five rebounds and three assists
-Gingerich added a season-high 12 points to go with six rebounds
-Guard Jay Parker finished with eight points, four rebounds and three assists
 
Northern Michigan Individual Highlights
-Jordan Perez paced the Wildcats with 17 points and seven rebounds
-Terry Nash added 14 points and four boards
-Kenny Williams contributed 10 points and five rebounds off the bench
 
Game Notes
-The Wildcats held a 39-30 edge on the glass and outscored Malone 30-20 in the paint
-Malone enjoyed a 19-6 advantage in points off turnovers and an 11-3 edge in second-chance points
-The contest featured three ties and nine lead changes
- After hitting seven of 15 three-pointers in the first half, Malone went just two of eight from deep in the final stanza
- NMU, meanwhile, knocked down over 54% of its second-half shot attempts (17 of 31)
 
Up Next: Malone returns home to host a pair of GLIAC contests next week.  The Pioneers will welcome Lake Superior State University to Osborne Hall on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. before hosting Northwood University on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.