With a chance to make up a game on the fourth-place Battlers, the Malone University men's basketball team came away with a huge 86-85 double-overtime road win over Alderson Broaddus University Saturday in Philippi, West Virginia.  Senior guard Ty Jordan hit the game-winning shot with just 2.2 seconds left to give Malone their 14th win of the season.
 
The Pioneers, now 14-7 overall and 7-6 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, have already matched their win total from a season ago and now own sole possession of fifth place in the G-MAC standings. The stunned Battlers, meanwhile, dropped to 14-7 and 8-6 in the G-MAC as their spot in the standings became a bit more vulnerable. As of right now, the two teams are on a collision course to meet again in March.
 
Recap
In an offensive showcase in the first half, the two teams combined for 11 three-pointers as the Battlers built a 39-34 advantage on the strength of 16 points by the G-MAC's leading scorer Mike Davis.
 
Besides a Daylan Haynie layup that made it a three-point game on the second possession of the second half, the Battler lead would fluctuate between four and 10 points for all of the next 15 minutes. An Alderson Broaddus three-pointer on an expiring shot clock made it a 60-51 game with 5:38 left and it seemed as if Malone would be facing its second-straight defeat to AB.
 
Malone battled back, though, to make it a one-score game almost instantly. A four-point play from junior guard Nate Sheppard on the very next possession made it 60-55 and then an uncontested layup from freshman sharpshooter Jaret Majestic made it a 60-57 game within a minute.
 
After trading buckets, a Davis layup made it 64-59, but Jordan, who came into the game as the G-MAC's third-leading scorer, showed off his range and drained an open three-pointer off of a smart pass from senior forward Mitchell Spotleson to make it a 64-62 contest with 3:02 remaining.
 
Davis excited the home crowd with a driving layup in the next minute and then a turnaround jumper with 39 seconds to go as the Battlers maintained a 68-62 lead, but the Pioneers continued to fight. On Malone's next possession, it was Jordan who found Spotleson this time for a layup under the bucket. Spotleson was fouled on the play and converted an and-1 opportunity to pull Malone within three at 68-65.
 
On the subsequent possession, Sheppard was able to force a jump-ball after tying-up AB's Anthony Mills on the inbounds pass with the arrow pointing towards Malone. Despite an open look, the Pioneers failed to hit the equalizing three and were forced to issue fouls. With fouls to give and just 17 seconds to play, Malone needed to foul three times just to send the Battlers to the line for a 1-and-1 and an opportunity to get the ball back. However, that wouldn't be necessary as Jordan came up with a steal to give Malone new life.
 
With 12 seconds left, the Pioneers had a second chance to tie it and this time they cashed in. Majestic tossed up a deep three from the right wing with just a few ticks left and hit nothing but net. Tied at 68-68, AB's attempt at a game-winner was off the mark and the two teams went to overtime.
 
The Pioneers never led in the first five-minute stanza, but they had an answer for every Battler basket. Layups from Spotleson and senior forward Djuro Pantos paired with two Jordan free throws tied it up at 74-74 with a minute to go. Two missed jumpers by Davis sandwiched around a shot clock violation by the Pioneers forced a second overtime.
 
For the first time since the 13:02 mark of the first half, Malone finally regained the lead on its first possession of the final frame. The lead then switched six more times in the session. With the scored tied 83-83 with 35 seconds left, Jordan directed a pass towards Spotleson in the right wing, but it was picked off by Davis, who took it home for a fastbreak layup. On the next time down, Jordan had his layup attempt blocked by Davis, but Spotleson grabbed the loose ball before he was fouled. The senior hit the first of his two free throws to make it 85-84, but the second was off the mark and eventually rolled out of the bounds in favor of Alderson Broaddus.
 
Down by one, the Pioneer defense forced a 5-second count on the ensuing inbounds pass to regain control of the ball with eight seconds left. After being stymied twice by Davis on back-to-back possessions, Jordan had a chance at redemption and he would not be denied.
 
After inbounding in front of the Malone bench, Jordan took a hand-off screen from Spotleson and sprinted across the court to the right wing. From there, he tossed up a fadeaway jumper from 19-feet. His high-arching shot caromed off the right side of the backboard and hit front rim before falling through the cylinder and putting Malone on top. With 2.2 seconds remaining, Davis had a solid look at a three on the opposite end, but his shot was too strong and Malone held on for the exciting road victory.
 
Game Highlights
-In total, the two teams were tied eight times during the game and the lead exchanged sides on 11 different occasions.
-Malone finished 32-of-68 (47.1%) from the field, 9-of-27 (33.3%) from three, and just 13-of-23 (56.5%) from the free-throw line.
-Alderson Broaddus countered with a 35-for-77 (45.5%) performance from the field and a 9-for-31 (29.0%) effort from behind the arc.
-The Battlers dominated the glass during regulation, outrebounding Malone 44-26. Overall, AB turned 21 offensive rebounds into 28 second chance points.
-Malone held a 10-5 upper hand in overtime rebounds, though, and a 16-12 edge in turnovers.
-Saturday was Malone's first overtime game since defeating Wayne State 86-85 in 2016. It was the first double-OT game since losing to Walsh 88-87 in 2015.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Ty Jordan finished his outstanding night with 24 points, a season-high eight assists, six rebounds, and two steals. He scored nine of Malone's 12 points in the second overtime session.
-Mitchell Spotleson scored a career-high 25 points to go along with six boards in a gutsy 46-minute performance.
-Jaret Majestic netted four three-pointers, including his game-tying triple to force overtime, as he ended the night with 14 points in a career-high 26 minutes off of the bench.
-Djuro Pantos added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
-Ben Evans (3-3 FG) recorded seven first-half points.
-Nate Sheppard chipped in with six points, four boards, two blocks, and a steal
 
Alderson Broaddus Highlights
-Mike Davis scored a game-high 38 points (16-30 FG) in the losing effort. He added six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.
-Mike Mitchel tallied 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds (nine offensive).
-Malik Bocook, the reigning G-MAC Freshman of the Year, added eight points and 12 boards.
-Sam Sanders came off the bench to score 16 points
 
Up Next
Malone will travel to Cedarville on Tuesday, January 30th as they look to avenge a loss to the Yellow Jackets from earlier in the season.