The Malone University men's basketball team registered a 68-63 triumph on Thursday evening in its Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest at Davis & Elkins College.

The Pioneers shot over 50% from the field on the night and outscored the Senators 9-4 over the final three and a half minutes.  With the win, Malone completed a season sweep of the Senators and improved to 13-7 overall and 6-6 in conference play.  Davis & Elkins, which had dropped a 71-65 decision to the Pioneers at Osborne Hall earlier this season, fell to 4-13 overall and 2-10 in G-MAC contests.

Thursday's game was evenly matched throughout, featuring 12 ties and 11 lead changes.  Davis & Elkins jumped out to a 21-14 advantage midway through the first half which marked the largest lead of the evening for either team.  The Pioneers immediately responded with a quick 8-0  surge to pull ahead 22-21.  Forward Mitchell Spotleson got the Malone rally started by sinking a pair of jump shots, the second from beyond the arc.  Guard Nate Sheppard then nailed another three-pointer on Malone's next trip down the floor, putting the Pioneers in front.

After heading to the locker room at intermission deadlocked at 33, neither team would lead by more than five points throughout the entire second half.  The final tie came with a little less than four minutes to go when the Senators' Edmund Parker knocked down a three-pointer to knot the score at 59-59.

Back-to-back lay-ups by forward Rholy Mouliom and forward Marcus Ernst put Malone up by four before an offensive rebound and put-back by Davis & Elkins' forward Rickenjee Bellevue pulled the Senators to within two at 63-61.

After the Pioneers grabbed a pair of big offensive rebounds on their next possession, guard Ty Jordan drained a clutch three-pointer to put Malone on top 66-61 with a little more than a minute to play.

Senator forward Trevor English made it a one possession game on Davis & Elkins' next trip down the floor, converting on a lay-up to make it 66-63 with 50 seconds left.  However, the hosts would get no closer the rest of the way.  After the Pioneers drained nearly 30 seconds off the clock, Mouliom came up with a bucket on another strong drive to the hoop, increasing the lead to five.  The Pioneer defense then came up with a stop in the final seconds to seal Malone's third straight road victory and fourth win in its last five games overall.
 
Game Highlights
-Malone knocked down 26 of 51 (51.0%) shot attempts over the course of the evening while Davis & Elkins converted on 25 of 61 (41.0%) field goals
-The Pioneers made five of 16 (31.3%) attempts from long range and took advantage of their trips to the foul line, making 11 of 13 (84.6%) free throws
-The Senators were six of 20 (30%) from deep and made only seven of 12 (58.3%) foul shots
-Davis & Elkins grabbed 20 offensive rebounds on the night, leading to 22 second-chance points
-Malone scored 14 points off 10 Senator turnovers and held a 25-9 edge in bench scoring

Malone Individual Highlights
-Sheppard posted 17 points and six rebounds
-Spotleson added 16 points and six boards
-Mouliom finished with a season-high 10 points, four of which came in the final four minutes
-Forward Djuro Pantos went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, tallying all nine of his points in the second half
-Jordan finished with seven points and two steals
-Ernst contributed six points and three rebounds
 
Davis & Elkins Individual Highlights
-English tallied a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds
-Bellevue posted 14 points and nine boards
-Parker contributed eight points and five rebounds
 
Up Next:
Malone will continue its three-game road trip on Saturday with a 4:00 p.m. contest at Alderson Broaddus University.