The Malone University men's basketball team stretched its winning streak to three in a row with a 78-76 victory at West Virginia State University on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Pioneers broke a 76-76 tie with 8.7 seconds remaining as guard Bryce Butler grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and then, after being fouled, stepped to the line and drained both of his attempts to put Malone in front by two.
 
The Yellow Jackets had one last chance in the final seconds, but the potential game-tying attempt was off the mark, allowing Malone to secure the non-conference triumph.  The Pioneers improved to 3-2 on the season with the victory while West Virginia State slipped to 2-3.
 
Game Recap
Despite going 1-for-10 from three-point range in the first half, Malone found itself down by just a 34-32 margin at intermission.
 
The second half was close throughout as West Virginia State's 60-55 advantage midway through the period proved to be the largest lead for either team over the final 20 minutes of play.
 
A lay-up by Malone forward Marcus Ernst and a three-pointer by guard Nate Sheppard quickly knotted the score at 60-60 with eight minutes remaining.
 
Malone took a three-point lead at 72-69 with under four minutes to go as Sheppard drained a jumper and then Ernst split a pair of free throws.  However, the Yellow Jackets answered right back, scoring the game's next four points to pull ahead 73-72 at the 2:39 mark. 
 
Butler would spilt a pair of foul shots to tie it 73-73 and then split two more at the line on Malone's next trip down the floor to give the Pioneers a one-point edge at 74-73 with two minutes left.
 
After West Virginia State tied it up with a free throw of its own, Sheppard scored on a driving lay-up to put Malone on top 76-74 with just over a minute to play.
 
On the Yellow Jackets' next possession, Pat Johnson-Agwu evened things up at 76-76 for West Virginia State after being fouled on a made tip-in at the basket.  Johnson-Agwu then appeared to put the hosts in front with 24 seconds showing on the clock after making the subsequent free throw, but the West Virginia State forward was whistled for stepping over the foul line on his attempt, leaving the score deadlocked at 76-76.
 
With the shot clock turned off, Sheppard was fouled with 10.5 seconds remaining.  Although the senior missed both of his foul shots, Butler came up with the huge offensive rebound and then sank the clutch go-ahead free throws.
 
Game Highlights
-Overall, the contest featured 12 ties and 10 lead changes; the largest lead for either team was a six-point advantage for West Virginia State midway through the first half
-After struggling to find its shooting touch over the first 20 minutes, Malone bounced back to make 53% of its second-half shot attempts, including five of its 13 attempts from long range
-Overall, the Pioneers shot 45.9% from the floor and 26.1% from beyond the arc
-West Virginia State nearly matched Malone, hitting 46.9% of its field goals and 33% of its three-pointers
-Both team struggled at the foul line as the Yellow Jackets were 10 of 17 (58.8%) at the stripe while Malone connected on only 16 of 31 (51.6%) free throws
-West Virginia State held a slim 43-39 edge in total rebounds
-Malone took good care of the basketball, committing just six turnovers
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Sheppard racked up a career-high 32 points, edging his previous career high of 31 which he tallied last January in a win at Ohio Valley University
-Sheppard sank 14 of 21 field goals on Saturday afternoon, including four of nine three-pointers.  He also grabbed five rebounds
-Forward Ben Evans added 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds
-Butler notched 10 points, five rebounds and three assists
-Guard Daylan Haynie added seven points and matched his previous career high with 11 assists
 
West Virginia State Individual Highlights
-Johnson-Agwu registered a double-double with a team-high 25 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.  He also blocked three shots and grabbed two steals
-Gus Stone tallied 16 points
-Glen Abram registered 10 points before fouling out
 
Up Next:
Malone will return home to host a 7:00 p.m. non-conference contest on Tuesday against Clarion University