The Malone University men's basketball team fell 72-69 in overtime at Saginaw Valley State University (MI) Saturday night.
The first half resulted in four lead changes, while neither team trailed by more than six points throughout the first half.
Malone first took a 4-2 lead in the first three and a half minutes of the game before Saginaw Valley State went on a 8-0 run to take a 10-4 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half.
The Pioneers would tie the game at 12-12 off a
Jason Miller three-pointer at the 13:40 marker. During the next two minutes, SVSU went on an 8-to-2 run to retake the lead 20-14.
With four minutes to play in the first half, Malone would take their second lead of the game when
Stephen O'Daniel III knocked down a three-pointer to make it a 30-28 game.
The Cardinals tallied four points in the final minute of the first half to take a 36-35 lead at the half.
It was a battle between both teams during the second half, but especially during last five minutes of regualtion as buckets and lead changes were exchanged.
The Cardinals split a pair of free throws and then converted on a lay-up to take a 64-62 lead with under two minutes to play. The Pioneers weren't done yet, as
Mitchell Spotleson grabbed an offensive rebound and then made a layup to tie the game at 64-64 with a minute left in regulation. After grabbing a steal, SVSU had two shots to win it in the final seven seconds, but both attempts were off the mark, thus sending the game into overtime.
In overtime,
Jay Parker dished the ball to
Brian Stone who collected the Pioneers' first points at the 4:25 marker to make it a 66-64 contest. Unfortunately, Malone had to play without their leading scorer, as Stone collected his fifth foul with three minutes left in overtime. Over the course of the next minute and a half, the hosts went on a 7-0 run to take a 71-66 lead. Parker knocked down a clutch three-pointer to cut the deficit to 71-69 with 1:06 remaining. The Cardinals split a pair of free throws with 13 seconds to go to increase their advantage to three. Malone had one last try to extend the game in the final moments, but the Pioneers' potential game-tying three-pointer was off the mark, allowing Saginaw Valley State to hang on for the 72-69 victory.
Malone Individual Highlights:-Stone led MU with 21 points after shooting 10-of-12 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds.
-Parker finished with 18 points, collected a season-high nine rebounds, seven assists and recorded two blocks.
-O'Daniel III notched 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
-Spotleson registered his fifth double-double on the season in tonight's game, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Saginaw Valley State Individual Highlights:-C.J. Turnage led SVSU with a team high 21 points and nine rebounds, while also dishing out three assists.
-Damon Bozeman added 11 points and six rebounds.
-Kellen Smith finished with a team high four assists.
Game Notes:-The Pioneers finished with the slight 41.8 field goal percentage over Saginaw's 41.2 field goal percentage.
-As a team, Malone notched a season-high seven total blocks.
-Malone grabbed a total of 46 rebounds (33 defensive, 13 offensive), which is their second highest rebound total on the season. They registered 51 total rebounds in Malone's 108-105 overtime season-opener road win at Davis & Elkins College (WV).
-Malone shot 7-of-23 (30.4%) at the three-point line, while SVSU shot 5-of-20 (25.0%).
-The Pioneers finished with a 17-11 advantage in second-chance points and dished out 16 assists to SVSU's 15.
Up Next:The Pioneers will continue conference play in Michigan as they travel to Hillsdale College tomorrow (Sunday, January 3). Tip-off is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m.
