The Malone University men's basketball team endured a tough 77-51 defeat during its Great Midwest Athletic Conference road contest at Hillsdale College on Thursday evening.

Malone senior forward Mitchell Spotleson reached 1,000 career points on a three-pointer in the final minute of the first half.  Spotleson, a four-year starter, finished the night with a team-high 18 points and is the 50th player in program history to reach the milestone.  He entered the season with 904 points and is now at 1,009 for his career following Thursday's contest.

Malone jumped out to an early 6-0 advantage thanks to a pair of three-pointers from guard Ty Jordan.  However, the Chargers quickly pulled ahead by netting 23 of the game's next 29 points.

The Pioneers cut the deficit to six on Spotleson's trey with 45 seconds to go in the opening period.  Hillsdale's Nick Czarnowski then closed out the first-half scoring with a lay-up, giving the Chargers a 34-26 lead at the break.

Another Spotleson three-pointer made it 42-36 with just over 13 minutes remaining, but that is as close as the Pioneers would get.  Hillsdale answered back with a three to stretch the lead out to nine.  After the two teams traded baskets over the next few possessions, the Chargers put the contest out of reach with an 18-3 scoring run.

Malone slipped to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in the Great Midwest following the defeat while Hillsdale improved to 8-2 and 2-1 in conference play.
 
Game Highlights
-Malone's 51 points marked its lowest offensive output of the year and matched its season low from 2016-17
-The Pioneers shot 36.4% overall and 26.9% (seven of 26) from beyond the arc; Malone went the foul line eight times, making four
-Conversely, Hillsdale knocked down 55.1% of its attempts, 41.7% (10 of 24) of its treys and 72.2% (13 of 18) of its foul shots
-The Chargers also out-rebounded Malone 36-24 and outscored the Pioneers 34-20 in the paint
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Spotleson's 18 points marked a season high; He also grabbed six rebounds and a steal
-Jordan finished with 11 points and two assists
-Guard Daylan Haynie tallied seven points and five assists
-Forward Marcus Ernst came off the bench to register six points and four rebounds
 
Hillsdale Individual Highlights
-Czarnowski racked up a career-high 27 points; He also posted five rebounds and five assists
-Forward Gordon Behr posted a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six assists
-Guard Ryan Badowski added 12 points and five boards
 
Up Next:
Malone will travel to the University of Findlay on Saturday for a 1:00 pm contest.