The Malone University men's basketball team was unable to recover from its early shooting woes on Tuesday night as the squad dropped its Great Midwest Athletic Conference opener at Alderson Broaddus University by a final score of 75-61.

A pair of three-pointers by guard Ty Jordan in the game's first three minutes accounted for Malone's only made field goals in the first half of play.  The Pioneers led 7-2 at the onset but then went ice cold, converting on just two of 29 shot attempts over the first 20 minutes of the contest.

Down 34-15 at intermission, Malone was able to regroup during the halftime break.  The Pioneers used a 12-3 surge in the early stages of the second period to cut the deficit to nine at 41-32.  Malone would then get as close as seven on three separate occasions – the final time occurring on a Mitchell Spotleson three-pointer with seven minutes to play.  However, Alderson Broaddus managed to hold off the Pioneer comeback bid, in part by hitting 11 of its 12 foul shots in the second half and committing just one turnover during the final 20 minutes of action.

Malone connected on 48.6% (17-of-35) of its shots from the field in the final frame while outscoring ABU by a 46-41 margin, but it was not enough to erase the sizable halftime deficit.

Game Highlights
-Alderson Broaddus also struggled to get in an offensive rhythm in the early going as the Battlers made just 10 of 33 shot attempts (30.3%) and went just one of eight (12.5%) from behind the three-point line in the first half
-The Pioneers were outrebounded 31-22 in the first half, but then turned the tables in the second stanza as Malone held a 22-14 advantage on the boards in the final frame.  Overall, ABU edged Malone by a slim 45-44 margin on the glass
-The Battlers committed just five turnovers on the evening
-Over their previous two games, the Pioneers had made 48% of their field goals, including 36 of 86 (41.8%) three-pointers

Malone Individual Highlights
-Jordan led all scorers with 16 points
-Guard Nate Sheppard tossed in 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds
-Spotleson finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and 11^th double-double of his career
-Guard Christian Graves added nine points and two assists

Alderson Broaddus Individual Highlights
-Forward Mike Mitchell led five Battlers in double figures with 15 points
-Exzavier Cooper and Jordan Haywood each contributed 14 points
-Guard Malik Bocook notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards
 
Up Next:
Malone will continue G-MAC play on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. home contest against Davis & Elkins College.  Saturday is Local Church Congregation Appreciation Day with discounted admission prices, a halftime contest and giveaways for members of local churches.Click here for additional information.