The Malone University men's basketball team picked up an 80-54 road victory on Thursday evening at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee after outscoring the host Trojans by a 46-24 margin in the second half.

The Pioneers trailed 22-17 midway through the opening period before fighting back to take a 34-30 advantage into the locker room at halftime.  Malone then took command of the contest by starting the final stanza on an 18-4 scoring run.

With the win, the Pioneers snapped a three-game slide, improving to 6-5 overall and 2-3 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.  The Trojans remained winless on the year, falling to 0-8 overall and 0-4 in league play.

Game Recap
Malone charged out to an early 8-2 lead in the game before Trevecca rattled off seven straight points to grab a 9-8 advantage.  Moments later, an 8-2 surge by the Trojans gave the hosts their largest lead of the night at 22-17 with eight and a half minutes remaining in the first half.

From there, the Pioneers' offense came alive as Malone scored nine of the game's next 12 points to re-take the lead at 26-25.  Buckets by forward Ben Evans and guard Nate Sheppard got things started before guard Bryce Butler connected on a jumper in the paint and then a three to put the Pioneers in front.

The Trojans kept things close over the remainder of the first half but then managed just four points over the first eight minutes of the second period as Malone quickly put the contest out of reach.
 
Game Highlights
-Malone shot 54% from the field over the final 20 minutes while limiting Trevecca to 37% shooting, including just two-of-13 accuracy from beyond the three-point arc
-Overall, the Pioneers shot 46.2% from the floor on the night, making 11 of 34 three-pointers and nine of 13 foul shots
-The Trojans, meanwhile, made 39.6% of their field goals, went eight of 28 from three-point land and were a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe
-Malone, which came into the game with a substantial height advantage, controlled the paint, out-rebounding TNU 43-25 while limiting the Trojans to just two offensive rebounds
-The Pioneers held a 9-0 edge in second-chance points and a 36-14 advantage in points in the paint
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Sheppard poured in a game-high 27 points while also grabbing six rebounds.  The senior hit nine of 16 shot attempts, including four of 10 three-pointers.  He also sank five of six free throws.  Sheppard has now scored 20 or more points six times this year
-Butler reached double-digits in scoring for the ninth straight game as he finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals
-Forward Marcus Ernst contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks
-Evans notched seven points, a career-high nine rebounds and three assists
-Freshman Daniel Goldrick tallied a season-high eight points off the bench
-Sehill Mouliom added six points and four rebounds in just eight minutes
 
Trevecca Nazarene Individual Highlights
-Jaylon Tharpe was the lone Trojan to reach double figures with 16 points
-CJ Herbert followed with eight points
 
Up Next:
Malone will wrap up its stretch of four consecutive road games with a 3:15 pm ET (2:15 pm CT) contest at Kentucky Wesleyan College on Saturday.