The Malone University men's basketball team defeated Lake Erie College 83-71 during day two of Gannon University's Gary Miller Classic.
 
After an early back and forth battle, the Pioneers took a 6-4 lead four minutes into the game on a fastbreak layup by Djuro Pantos and never looked back. Malone would keep their lead for the remainder of the game, extending their advantage to 20 points by halftime. The halftime score was 42-22.
 
The Pioneers' largest lead of the evening came from a 3-pointer by Brandon Bapst which gave Malone a 47-24 advantage. Lake Erie went on a run late in the second half to bring the score within seven points with just over four minutes remaining in the contest. Malone was able to regain their composure and give themselves some extra breathing room at the end of the game thanks to seven straight free throws that extended the lead back to fourteen.
 
Game Highlights
-Malone's bench was able to outscore Lake Erie's 29-11.
-Malone scored 21 points off turnovers, compared to 11 points off turnovers by the Storm.
-The Pioneers were firing on all cylinders in the first half, shooting 51.7% from the field, 38.5% from three-point land, and 100% from the free throw line. The Storm had a hot streak of their own in the second half, shooting 46.9% from the field, 61.5% from three, and 91.7% from the charity stripe.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Daylan Haynie scored a team-high 16 points for the Pioneers, while dishing out six assists and snatching three steals along the way.  The freshman was named to the Gary Miller Classic All-Tournament Team following his impressive weekend performance (He also tallied 10 points during Friday's contest)
-Pantos grabbed eight rebounds on the evening, four of which came on the offensive glass. Pantos was able to score eight points as well, shooting 3-4 from the field while going 2-2 at the free throw line.
-Mitchell Spotleson scored 14 points for Malone.
-Chris Johnson and Nate Sheppard added 11 apiece off the bench for the Pioneers, accounting for 22 of Malone's 29 bench points.

Lake Erie Individual Highlights
-Guard Sean Howard dropped a game-high 23 points on the evening for the Storm. Howard added four rebounds and five assists as well. Howard went a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line.
-Forward Nick Wells added 12 more points or Lake Erie to go with his seven rebounds.
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers will be back in action on Saturday, December 3^rd when the team will travel to West Virginia to take on Bluefield State.