The Malone University men's basketball team stretched its winning streak to five straight on Saturday afternoon with a gritty 69-64 home win over Alderson Broaddus University.

The Battlers, who entered the game as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference leaders in scoring defense, took a 33-29 lead into intermission after limiting the Pioneers to 35.5% shooting over the first 20 minutes.

The halftime deficit would have been seven if not for senior Christian Graves' buzzer-beating three-pointer which came off a nice pass from forward Mitchell Spotleson and gave the hosts some momentum as they headed to the locker room.

Another three-pointer by Graves at the start of the second period trimmed the ABU advantage down to one at 33-32.  The Battlers' Mike Mitchell answered with a lay-up to push the visitors' advantage back to three before a trey by Spotleson and a bucket by guard Ty Jordan put Malone in front 37-35 roughly five minutes into the final stanza. 

The two teams would then trade baskets back and forth over the next few minutes before a 9-0 Malone scoring run put the hosts on top 55-45 at the midpoint of the second half.  Spotleson and forward Nate Sheppard accounted for all nine points as Spotleson scored a bucket in the paint and connected on a three while Sheppard hit a pair of free throws to go with an offensive rebound and put back.

Malone would then maintain its advantage for the next few minutes before  ABU stormed back, using a 10-1 surge to tie the game up at 62-62 with two and a half minutes to play.

Spotleson ended the Malone scoring drought with a layup off a nice pass from forward Djuro Pantos.  Following a missed ABU three-pointer, Sheppard scored on a fast-break lay-up to make it 66-62 in favor of the home team. 

The Battlers' Malik Bocook would convert on a jumper on ABU's next trip down the floor to cut the lead back down to two.  Following a Malone turnover, the Battlers had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, but a clutch steal by Spotleson ended the threat. 

Following a timeout, ABU quickly fouled, sending Jordan to the line.  The junior calmly sank both of his attempts to stretch the lead back to four at 68-64 with 16.8 showing on the clock.

The Battlers then came up empty on their next possession, miss-firing on a three-point attempt from near the top of the key.  Jordan was there to grab the rebound and, after being fouled once more, stepped to the line and split two more free throws to cement the hard-fought victory.

With the five-point triumph, Malone avenged its 75-61 road defeat to ABU in early January and improved its record to 14-11 overall and 6-5 in the G-MAC.  Alderson Broaddus, meanwhile, slipped to 13-13 and 7-4 in the conference.  The Pioneers, who clinched a G-MAC Tournament spot last week, are now in fourth place in the conference standings, a half-game behind third-place Davis & Elkins College and one game back of second-place ABU.

Game Highlights
-Malone committed a season-low five turnovers during Saturday's game and outscored the Battlers 21-4 in points off turnovers
-The Pioneers hit six of their 14 (42.9%) three-pointers in the second half.  Overall, Malone shot 36.4% (24 of 66) from the field, 35.5% (11 of 31) from three-point range and 62.5% (10 of 16) from the line
-Malone has now hit 11 or more treys in 11 out of its last 13 games
-ABU hit 41.1% (23 of 56) of its shots, 22.2% (six of 27) of its treys and 63.2% (12 of 19) of its free throws
-The Battlers held a 46-34 edge in total rebounds but the Pioneers held their own on the inside, outscoring ABU 24-18 in the paint and 16-9 in second-chance points
-The Pioneers' five-game winning streak is the longest for the program since the 2013-14 campaign

Malone Individual Highlights
-Prior to the start of the game, Pioneer seniors Brandon Bapst, Haydon Dotson, Christian Graves, and Nick Williams were recognized along with each of their families
-Spotleson reached the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season as he led all scorers with 22 points.  The junior hit eight of his 16 shot attempts, four of his eight treys and both of his free throws.  He also grabbed seven rebounds and two steals
-Jordan ended the afternoon with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot
-Sheppard tallied 13 points and a team-best nine rebounds
 
Alderson Broaddus Individual Highlights
-Bocook notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.  He also dished out three assists and blocked two shots
-Guard Sam Sanders added 15 points, three assists and three rebounds
-Mitchell contributed 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds
 
Up Next:
Malone, winners of eight of its last 10 games, will wrap up its regular-season schedule on Wednesday evening with a 7:30 p.m. road match-up against Davis & Elkins.  The Pioneers will then take part in the G-MAC Tournament March 2-4 at top-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan College.
 
Academic Recognition:
At halftime, Malone football senior defensive lineman Austin Cary was recognized along with his family.  Cary recently became the first Pioneer football player to be named to the NCAA Division II Academic All-America Team