Archived Video Broadcast

The Malone University men's basketball team dropped its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at home to Grand Valley State University on Saturday afternoon by final score of 89-79.

The Pioneers, playing without guards Stephen O'Daniel III (illness) and Nate Sheppard (injury), led by as many as five points midway through the first half.  The Lakers went on a 7-0 run to take a 33-29 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the opening period.  Buckets by guard Christian Graves and Neil Gingerich knotted the score at 33-33 before GVSU outscored Malone 9-3 over the final four minutes of the first half to take a 42-36 advantage into the locker room.

The visitors' lead swelled to 51-38 three minutes into the final stanza.  Malone answered, fighting all the way back to tie the game 53-53 after netting 15 of the contest's next 17 points.  However, immediately after the Pioneers evened the score, the Lakers regained control with a 12-0 run that put them on top 65-53 with just over eight minutes remaining.

An old-fashioned three-point play by center Brian Stone ended the Pioneers' scoring drought, trimming the deficit to nine.  Malone was unable to get any closer the rest of the way, though, as the Lakers went on to notch their 11th victory of the season.

Malone Individual Highlights
-Graves finished with 17 points and five assists
-Guard Jay Parker also recorded 17 points to go with three rebounds, three steals and three assists
-Despite battling foul trouble for most of the afternoon, Stone tossed in 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor
-Forward Mitchell Spotleson added 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists
 
Grand Valley State Individual Highlights
-Guard Aaron Hayes registered a game-high 21 points along with four assists, three rebounds and two steals
-Guard Zach West tallied 12 points and six boards
-Guard Luke Ryskamp and forward Ricardo Carbajal both tossed in 10 points
 
Game Notes
-Malone shot 50% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc…GVSU countered by hitting 57% of their shots from the floor, including nine of 16 (56%) treys
-The Pioneers scored 23 points off 13 GVSU turnovers
-Both teams totaled 11 offensive rebounds, but the Lakers enjoyed an 18-12 edge in second-chance points
-The Pioneers tallied eight steals
-31 of the Lakers' points came off their bench
 
Up Next: Malone has completed its slate of contests against teams from the GLIAC North Division and will begin South Division play on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Lake Erie College.