The Malone University men's basketball team registered a hard-fought 66-59 triumph over Ohio Dominican University on Saturday afternoon at Osborne Hall.

Although the Pioneers shot just three of 16 (18.8%) from three-point range, Malone found plenty of success inside the arc, scoring 40 points in the paint and out-rebounding the Panthers by a 41-29 margin.

The Pioneers held a 33-29 advantage at halftime and then never trailed over the final 20 minutes.

Ohio Dominican cut the second-half deficit down to one point on several occasions before eventually tying the game at 47-47 on a made three-pointer by forward Hasan Varence with 12 and a half minutes remaining.

The Pioneers' Nate Sheppard answered with a driving lay-up on the hosts' next trip down the floor, putting Malone back in front.  The Pioneers would then hold Ohio Dominican scoreless for the next five minutes, stretching their lead out to 56-47.

The Panthers' Mike DeLeon ended the drought on a lay-up with just over seven minutes to go.  Varence would add a bucket and then split a pair of free throws on ODU's next two possessions, trimming the Pioneer advantage to 56-52.

A jumper by guard Ty Jordan and lay-up by forward Djuro Pantos stretched the Malone lead out to 60-52 with three minutes remaining.

Both teams would come up empty on their next few possessions before the Panthers' Ronnie Williams connected on a three-point attempt to slash the deficit back down to five at 60-55 with under a minute to play.
 
However, the Panthers were unable to get any closer than five the rest of the way as Jordan went a perfect six-for-six at the foul line in the final 30 seconds to cement the Great Midwest Athletic Conference win.

Malone improved to 9-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play with the victory while ODU slipped to 7-6 overall and 2-4 in the Great Midwest.
 
Game Highlights
-Both teams struggled from distance as the Panthers made just four of 22 (18.2%) attempts from three-point range
-Overall, ODU shot 42.6% from the field while Malone made 45.5% of its attempts
-The Panthers went just three of seven at the foul line while the Pioneers sank 13 of 19 free throws
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Sheppard posted 18 points and six rebounds
-Jordan came off the bench to register 18 points and six rebounds as well
-Forward Mitchell Spotleson tallied 15 points and four boards
-Pantos had seven points, eight rebounds and two steals
 
Ohio Dominican Individual Highlights
-Varence tallied a game-high 19 points to go with eight boards and three blocked shots
-Shemar Waugh was the only other Panther to reach double digits, finishing the afternoon with 12 points and four assists
 
Up Next:
Malone will continue conference play on Tuesday with a 1:00 p.m. home contest against Cedarville University.