The Malone University men's basketball team suffered a tough 69-67 home defeat on Saturday in its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest against NCAA Division II #17 Ashland University.

Eagle forward Wendell Davis delivered the game-winner, breaking a 67-67 tie by hitting a fall-away jumper from near the top of the key with 0.3 seconds remaining. 

The Pioneers led by as many as 10 points in the opening stanza.  The Eagles closed out the period on an 8-2 run and headed to the locker-room trailing Malone by a 31-29 margin.

Ashland then used a 13-0 spurt early in the second half to open up a 46-37 advantage.  A three-pointer by forward Mitchell Spotleson and a pair of buckets by forward Neil Gingerich quickly pulled Malone back to within one at 46-45.

The two squads would then trade the lead back and forth over the next five minutes until a jumper by Davis and a lay-up by guard Adrian Cook put the Eagles in front 63-58 with five and half minutes to play.

However, Malone refused to surrender, fighting back to within 63-62 after center Brian Stone split a pair of free throws and guard Christian Graves drilled a clutch three-pointer.

Another bucket by Davis extended the Ashland lead to 67-64 moments later, but Graves answered back once again, nailing another big three to tie the game at 67-67 with just over two minutes to go.

Both teams came up empty on their next few possessions as Ashland and Malone both committed turnovers within the final 60 seconds.  Ashland got the ball back with 24 ticks remaining and called a quick timeout. Davis then ran down the clock before sinking the contested jumper in the final moments.

The Pioneers had to go the length of the floor in the final 0.3 and Davis intercepted the long inbounds pass, sealing the win for AU.

Malone Individual Highlights
-Gingerich matched his season-high with 12 points off the bench…He also grabbed five rebounds and blocked four shots
-Graves totaled 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals
-Guard Stephen O'Daniel III registered nine points, five boards and four assists
-Spotleson added nine points and five boards
-Stone was hampered by foul trouble throughout the afternoon, but still managed to register nine points and four rebounds before fouling out
 
Ashland Individual Highlights
-Forward Marsalis Hamilton tossed in 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds
-Guard Boo Osborne also tallied 18 points to go with seven steals
-Davis tallied 13 of his 14 points in the second half…he also registered five rebounds and three steals
 
Game Notes
-The defeat marked the sixth time this season that Malone has lost a game by three points or less
-Malone shot 50% from the floor and 38.9% from beyond the arc
-Ashland made 43% of its shots and eight of 16 attempts from downtown
-The Eagles grabbed 12 steals but the squads were even in points off turnovers with 17 apiece
-Ashland held a 34-30 edge in rebounds and a commanding 17-5 advantage in second-chance points
 
Up Next: Malone will host Tiffin University on Thursday night.  Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.