The Malone University men's basketball team fell by a narrow 70-68 margin to rival Walsh University on Saturday afternoon at Osborne Hall.

The Cavaliers started the game red-hot, connecting on 10 of their first 13 shots attempts to open up a 23-9 advantage midway through the first half.  Walsh stretched its lead to 42-23 in the closing moments of the opening period before Malone's Ty Jordan sank a deep three-pointer at the first-half buzzer, making the score 42-26 at intermission.

Walsh maintained a double-digit lead through the midway point of the second half before the Pioneers began to chip away at the deficit.  Back-to-back three-pointers by Jordan and guard Jaret Majestic trimmed the Cavalier lead to 59-53 at the seven-minute mark. 

Moments later, a quick 7-0 Malone spurt pulled the Pioneers to within three with a little more than three minutes to play.  After trading baskets back and a forth, the hosts made it a two-point game with two minutes to go on another big three-pointer by Jordan.

Walsh's Chandler Vaudrin answered back on the Cavaliers' next trip down the floor, converting on a spinning lay-up in the lane to stretch the visitors' lead to 69-65.  Following a missed Pioneer jumper, Vaudrin went to the line and split a pair of foul shots to put Walsh up by five with a minute remaining.

Malone would misfire on its next three-point attempt and Walsh secured the rebound.  Following a quick foul, the Cavs missed on the front end of their one-and-one free throw opportunity with 12 ticks to play. 

The Pioneers would then capitalize on the missed foul shot as guard Nate Sheppard drained a deep three-pointer to cut the deficit to two at 70-68 with 4.1 seconds remaining. 

Following a quick foul, the Cavaliers stepped to the line with 2.9 seconds showing on the clock.  However, once again, Walsh misfired on its one-and-one attempt.  The Pioneers grabbed the rebound and called timeout.  With the ball under the Walsh hoop with 2.4 seconds left, Malone quickly advanced up the court, but Sheppard's desperation shot attempt from just across the midcourt line was off the mark as the final horn sounded, sealing the Cavaliers' twelfth consecutive win over their crosstown rival.

Malone slipped to 12-7 overall and 5-6 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play following the contest while Walsh improved to 11-4 overall and 7-3 in conference games.
 
Game Highlights
-After knocking down 60.7% of their attempts in the first half, Walsh went 11-of-30 (36.7%) from the field in the final stanza.  Overall, the Cavaliers made 48.3% (28 of 58) of their shot attempts.
-Malone was nine of 32 (28.1%) from the field over the first 20 minutes, but then hit 14 of 32 (43.8%) shot attempts in the second half, ending the game at 35.9% (23 of 64).
-The Cavs connected on just five of 17 (29.4%) three-pointers and nine of 16 (56.3%) free throws.  Malone went 13 of 38 (34.2%) from long range and converted on nine of 11 free throws (81.8%)
-Walsh outscored the Pioneers by a 40-14 margin in the paint and held a 41-35 advantage in total rebounds
-Malone's bench outscored the Cavaliers' reserves by a 22-2 margin
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Jordan finished with a team-high 17 points.  He also grabbed eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals
-Sheppard posted 12 points, four rebounds and two assists
-Mitchell Spotleson tallied 10 points, nine rebounds
-Majestic provided a spark off the Pioneer bench with 10 points
 
Walsh Individual Highlights
-Vaudrin filled up the stat sheet for Walsh with 24 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and two steals
-Forward Andy Lucien posted 17 points and seven rebounds
-Guard Bo Furcron added 14 points
-Guard Darryl Straughter contributed eight points, eight rebounds and three assists
 
Up Next:
Malone will begin a three-game road trip on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Davis & Elkins College