Archived Video Broadast

The Malone University men's basketball team picked up its second consecutive home victory with a 73-63 triumph over visiting Wayne State University on Thursday night.

The Pioneers never trailed in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest, jumping out to a 15-3 advantage just five minutes into the first half.  Malone then took a 38-25 lead to the locker room at intermission after limiting the Warriors to 29.4% shooting over the first 20 minutes.

The Pioneers stretched their advantage to as many as 19 points at 52-33 with a little over 13 minutes to play.  However, Wayne State refused to go quietly. 

The Warriors slowly chipped away at the deficit, pulling to within 63-59 following forward Chuck Key's three-point play with three minutes remaining.

Forward Mitchell Spotleson answered back on Malone's next trip down the floor as the sophomore forward sank a big three-pointer.  The clutch trey sparked an 8-2 Pioneer run that put the contest out of reach.

Malone Individual Highlights
-Center Brian Stone paced four Malone players in double figures with 21 points…the senior sank nine of 14 field goals while also grabbing a team-high six rebounds
-Guard Stephen O'Daniel III helped the Pioneers build the big first-half lead, scoring 15 of his 17 points over the first 20 minutes…In addition to his point total, the senior also contributed three assists and four rebounds
-Guard Christian Graves added 11 points and four boards
-Guard Jay Parker contributed 11 points and five steals off the bench
-Spotleson tallied seven points, four rebounds and three assists
-Guard Kyle Nader added six points on 3-of-4 shooting
 
Wayne State Individual Highlights
-Key notched a team-high 19 points off the bench
-Guard Ronald Booth added 13 points
-Guard Clark Bishop tossed in 11 points
-Guard Marcus Moore posted seven points, eight rebounds and four assists
 
Game Notes
-Malone connected on 53.1% of its shot attempts, including seven of 17 (41.2%) three-pointers
-The Warriors shot just 35.7% from the field, marking the second straight game in which Malone held its opponent under 37% shooting
-The Warriors grabbed 21 offensive rebounds on the night and held a substantial 42-31 advantage on the glass overall
-The Pioneers posted eight steals, marking the third straight game Malone has tallied eight steals or more
-With the win, Malone completed a season sweep of the Warriors as the squad had registered an 86-85 overtime win in Detroit earlier this year
 
Up Next: The Pioneers travel to the University of Findlay on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. showdown with the Oilers.