The Malone University men's basketball team opened up a 42-25 halftime lead and never looked back as the squad cruised to an 82-54 victory in its home opener against Kentucky State University on Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers improved to 1-2 on the season with the non-conference win while the Thorobreds fell to 1-2.

Game Recap
Saturday's contest remained close through the first 13 minutes of action as a pair of free throws by KSU's Kevin Hayes trimmed the Pioneer lead to 20-15 with 7:32 remaining in the first half.  From there, Malone went on a 13-2 scoring run to open up a 33-17 advantage.  Guards Nate Sheppard and Bryce Butler combined to score all 13 of the Pioneers' points during the run.  A steal and fast-break lay-up by Butler got things started.  Sheppard then canned three straight jump shots, including a pair of treys, before Butler added a trey of his own to put the hosts in front by 16.

The Pioneers went to the locker room in front by 17 and then maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half.

Game Highlights
-Malone sank over 51% of its first-half shot attempts, including seven of 15 attempts from downtown.  Overall, the Pioneers made 48% of their field-goal attempts, 40.9% of their three-pointers and 65% of their foul shots
-Kentucky State was held to 33% shooting in the contest and made just four of 26 (15.4%) attempts from beyond the arc
-The Pioneers enjoyed a 46-37 edge in total rebounds and out-scored the Thorobreds 36-30 in the paint
-Malone also scored 16 points off 13 Kentucky State turnovers
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Butler tossed in a career-high 19 points after knocking down seven of his 11 shot attempts, including two of four treys, and three of four foul shots
-Sheppard finished with 19 points and nine rebounds
-Forward Marcus Ernst registered his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds
-Forward Ben Evans reached double figures for the third straight game, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists
-Guard Daylan Haynie also notched 11 points with six assists, six rebounds and two steals
 
Kentucky State Individual Highlights
-Hayes paced the Thorobreds with 16 points
-Forward Austin Sherill and guard Felix Wilson each finished with 10 points and six boards
 
Up Next:
Malone will continue non-conference play on Tuesday with a 7:00 p.m. home contest against East-West University.