The Malone University men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought 99-97 road defeat on Monday night in its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with rival Walsh University.

The Pioneers and Cavaliers battled back and forth throughout the game which marked the first of two meetings between the squads this season.  In all, the tightly-contested affair featured seven ties and 16 lead changes. 

Both teams shot over 57% from the field in the first half.  A three-pointer by Malone guard Stephen O'Daniel III put the visitors in front 39-38 with a little less than four minutes to play in the opening stanza.   Walsh then unleashed a three-point barrage, hitting treys on four consecutive trips down the floor to grab a 50-43 advantage.  The two teams would then trade a pair of baskets before forward Mitchell Spotleson connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer, trimming the Walsh lead to 52-48 at halftime.

The Cavalier advantage would swell to as many as 16 points in the early stages of the second period before Malone fought back, cutting the deficit to 71-67 midway through the period with a jumper by guard Jay Parker, a tip-in by Spotleson and a three-pointer from guard Christian Graves.

Malone would take its first lead of the second half on a three-pointer by O'Daniel III at the 5:31 mark, making the score 84-83.

Two minutes later, another big O'Daniel three-pointer put the Pioneers in front 91-89.   The lead exchanged hands over the next several possessions before a three-pointer by Walsh's Zac Carter put the hosts on top 95-93 with 90 seconds to play. 

Although Malone would pull within one on a free throw with a little over a minute to go, the visitors were unable to even the score the rest of the way, coming up empty on their next few shot attempts.  The Cavs, meanwhile, sank four free throws in the final minute to increase their advantage to 99-94.  A Spotleson three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left pulled Malone to within 99-97, but the Cavs managed to run out the clock to preserve the narrow victory.

The rivals will square off once more in the Mayors' Cup, scheduled for Thursday, February 25th at Malone's Osborne Hall.

Malone Individual Highlights
-Parker finished the night with a career-high 26 points after connecting on 11 of 16 shots from the field…he also contributed six rebounds and five assists
-O'Daniel III hit five three-pointers, finishing the night with 23 points
-Spotleson tallied 20 points after connecting on six of eight field goals, including three of five treys…he also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds
-Graves hit four of five shot attempts on his way to 11 points
-Center Brian Stone notched 10 points despite battling foul trouble for much of the evening
 
Walsh Individual Highlights
-Carter and forward Trey Fletcher combined for 67 of the Cavaliers' 99 points
-Carter finished with 36 points after hitting 12 of 20 shot attempts
-Fletcher added 31 points and eight boards
-Guard Chall Montgomery notched 16 points and eight boards
-Guard Jesse Hardin Jr. pocketed 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists
-Guard Steven Carpenter was the only other Cavalier to score in the game, finishing with three points
 
Game Notes
-Malone shot 54.4% from the field over the course of the game and hit 13 of 33 three-pointers
-Walsh countered by connecting on 47.8% of their shot attempts, including 10 of 30 treys
-The Cavs took advantage of their trips to the foul line, sinking 23 of 29 free throws
-Malone went to the charity stripe 15 times, hitting 10
-Walsh held a 41-32 edge on the glass and snagged 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 22 second-chance points
-Malone outscored the Cavaliers 38-26 in the paint and 36-0 in bench points
 
Up Next: Malone will host Lake Erie College on Thursday at 8:00 p.m.