The Malone University men's basketball team will host three games during a busy week at Osborne Hall.  The Pioneers will take on Clarion University on Tuesday night before opening Great Midwest Athletic Conference play with contests against Ohio Valley University on Thursday and Ohio Dominican University on Saturday.
 
GameDay
11/27/18 Malone vs. Clarion University – 7:00 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
11/29/18 Malone vs. Ohio Valley University – 8:00 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
12/1/18 Malone vs. Ohio Dominican University – 3:00 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
Series History
Clarion: Malone trails the all-time series 10-2.  11 of the 12 all-time meetings came during the last 1950s and early 1960s.  The two teams last met during the 1977-78 season, with Clarion prevailing 98-78.
Ohio Valley:  The Pioneers have won all three meetings with the Fighting Scots.  Last season, Malone secured a 78-69 win at OVU.  Nate Sheppard racked up 31 points and 10 rebounds in last year's contest while Marcus Ernst provided eight points and nine rebounds
Ohio Dominican: Malone holds a 60-25 advantage in the series with its long-time conference foe.  The 60 wins against the Panthers are the second-most against any opponent in program history, trailing only the Pioneers' 63 all-time victories against Tiffin University.  The Pioneers defeated ODU in the regular-season contest between the two teams last season by a final score of 66-59 (at Osborne Hall on December 30).  However, the Panthers got their revenge in the opening-round of the G-MAC Postseason Tournament, topping Malone 87-74 on their way to claiming the 2018 G-MAC Tournament Championship.
 
Malone Notes - Roster | Statistics
-The Pioneers (3-2) enter the week on a three-game winning streak, most recently topping West Virginia State University on the road Saturday by a final score of 78-76
-Despite struggling at the foul line (16 of 31) and from beyond the arc (six of 23), the Pioneers secured their first road win of the year Saturday thanks in part to committing a season-low six turnovers and handing out 21 assists on 28 made field goals
-Malone has scored at least 70 points in all five games this year and enters the week ranked sixth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with an average of 80.4 points per contest
-The Pioneers are also third in the conference in field-goal percentage defense, having allowed opponents to make just 41.2% of their attempts from the floor so far this year
-Malone is shooting 38.6% from long range through its first five games, sixth-best in the G-MAC.  The Pioneers have also gotten to the foul line more than any other team in the conference but have struggled to consistently make their attempts, sinking only 75 of 119 (63%) charity tosses.
-Guard Nate Sheppard registered a career-high 32 points in Saturday's game, surpassing his previous career best of 31 points.  With Saturday's performance, Sheppard moved into the Top 30 on the Pioneers' all-time scoring list, now with 1,275 career points.
-Sheppard leads the G-MAC and ranks 28th in NCAA Division II with an average of 22.8 points per game.  He also ranks first in the conference and 22nd in the nation with an average of 3.8 made three-pointers per outing
-Point guard Daylan Haynie matched a career-high on Saturday with 11 assists.  The junior leads the conference and ranks sixth in NCAA Division II in assist to turnover ratio at 5.67.  His average of 6.8 assists per game is second-best in the G-MAC and ranks 16th nationally
-Guard Bryce Butler posted a career-high 24 points in last Tuesday's victory over East-West University.  Then on Saturday, he delivered the go-ahead points in the final seconds after grabbing an offensive rebound and then sinking two clutch free throws.  Butler is averaging 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game
-Forward Ben Evans tossed in 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds during Saturday's win in West Virginia.  He is averaging 15.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 56.0% from the field
 
Clarion Notes - Roster | Statistics
-The Golden Eagles are members of NCAA Division II's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)
-Clarion went just 3-25 last season, including an 0-14 record on the road
-The Golden Eagles enter Tuesday's game with a 1-1 record.  Clarion won its season opener against Thiel College 90-80 but then fell at home to G-MAC member Davis & Elkins College last Tuesday by a final score of 81-76
-Clarion is averaging 18 assists in its first two games but has also committed 30 turnovers
-Forward Lawrence Lemon tossed in 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win over Thiel
-6'5" guard Stevan Rodriguez has recorded double-doubles in each of his first two games.  The junior tallied 12 points and 10 boards against Thiel.  He then posted 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to D&E
-Guard Khari Williams has reached double figures in scoring in both games this year and is shooting 60% (nine of 15) from the field
 
Ohio Valley Notes - Roster | Statistics
-The Fighting Scots went just 3-23 last year but are off to a 3-0 start this season, having recorded home wins over Wright State Lake, West Virginia Wesleyan and Kentucky Christian University.
-In its most recent game, a 113-97 victory over Kentucky Christian last Monday, OVU shot 55% from the field and sank 14 of 30 (46.7%) three-pointers
-OVU leads the G-MAC and ranks fourth in NCAA Division II with an average of 6.7 blocked shots per contest
-The Fighting Scots also lead the conference in rebounding with an average of 43.3 boards per game
-OVU is shooting 50.5% as a team through its first three games and has made 40.8% (31 of 76) of its three-pointers
-Guard Christian Alley is averaging a team-high 18.0 points per game
-Guard Kenneth Miller has posted 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest
-Guard Ty Dobson is shooting 52.6% (10 of 19) from long range this season
-Forward David Adeyemo has blocked nine shots on the season while averaging 14.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest
 
Ohio Dominican Notes - Roster | Statistics
-The Panthers won last year's G-MAC Postseason Tournament and made their first NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance before falling to eventual National Champion Ferris State University in the Midwest Region Quarterfinals
-ODU is 4-2 so far this season and most recently defeated the University of Wisconsin-Parkside last Wednesday by a final score of 84-69.  The Panthers will play at Walsh University on Thursday evening before taking on the Pioneers on Saturday
-The Panthers are averaging 80.3 points per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and 37.7% from three-point land
-ODU has made at least seven three-pointers in every game this season and is also shooting 73.5% from the foul line as a team
-Guard Sam Hickey is averaging a team-best 14.7 points per game and is making 2.7 three-pointers per contest
-Guard Tahj Curry is shooting over 51% from the floor and averaging 14.0 points per game
-Forward Hasan Varence has posted 11.0 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per outing
-Guard Michael Scott has contributed 8.8 points and 3.8 assists per contest.