The Malone University men's basketball team picked up a thrilling 84-82 non-conference victory at home on Wednesday afternoon against the University of Charleston.

The Pioneers, who were hosting their "Christmas at Osborne Hall" festivities, gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about as Malone overcame a late 75-69 deficit, charging back for the two-point triumph.

Senior guard Nate Sheppard put on an impressive shooting display as he knocked down a career-high seven three-pointers on just ten attempts and finished the afternoon with a game-high 28 points.

Sheppard went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the final three and a half minutes, accounting for 13 of Malone's final 15 points.  He tied the game at 80-80 on a trey with under a minute to play and then, following a technical foul on the Charleston bench, put the Pioneers in front 81-80 by splitting a pair of free throws with 44.3 seconds left.

The Golden Eagles would regain the lead at 82-81 on a driving lay-up by guard Seth O'Neal on their next trip down the floor, but Sheppard came through once again, putting the Pioneers ahead for good after draining a deep, contested three with 19.9 seconds to play.

Charleston drew a foul with three ticks to go, but the Golden Eagles came up empty on both of their attempts from the free-throw stripe.  With the victory, the Pioneers improved to 5-1 on their home court this season and 7-6 overall.  Charleston had its three-game winning streak snapped, dropping to 7-4 on the year.
 
Game Recap
The Pioneers looked to be in command early on as a 13-3 scoring run gave the hosts a 36-19 lead with under six minutes to go in the first half.  However, the Golden Eagles answered back with a 12-2 surge that cut Malone's lead down to 41-37 at intermission.

The hosts maintained a lead throughout the majority of the final period until the 6:10 mark when a Charleston three-pointer knotted the score at 69-69.  The basket was part of a 9-0 run by the Golden Eagles that gave them their largest lead of the afternoon at 75-69 with three and a half minutes left.

From there, Sheppard took over.  He ended the Malone scoring drought with a clutch trey and then went on to hit his next three attempts from long range – each one well-defended.  Guard Daylan Haynie assisted on three out of the four Sheppard triples in the final minutes of the game.  Haynie finished with eight assists on the day and also contributed a driving lay-up down the stretch to help the Pioneers complete their late rally.
 
Game Highlights
-The Pioneers shot an impressive 53.6% from the field for the game, their second-best overall shooting performance of the season
-Malone knocked down 14 of 25 three-pointers on the night, for a season-high 56.0% accuracy from long range.  The red-hot shooting display marked Malone's best three-point performance since December of 2017 when the team drained 16 of 28 treys in a lop-sided 108-54 win against Point Park University
-The Golden Eagles, who entered the game as the second-best shooting team in NCAA Division II, connected on over 64% of their second-half shot attempts and ended the game at 55.2% (32 of 58) overall
-Charleston also went six of 14 (42.9%) from three-point range and 12 of 16 at the foul line
-The Golden Eagles held a 33-27 advantage in total rebounds and a 14-3 edge in second-chance points
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Sheppard tallied three rebounds, one assist and one steal to go with his 28 points.  Sheppard, who entered the contest as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference's second-leading scorer, has now posted 20 or more points seven times this season
-Guard Bryce Butler followed with 16 points, four assists and three rebounds
-Haynie posted 13 points on five of seven shooting along with his eight assists
-Forward Ben Evans notched 12 points and eight rebounds
-Forward Sehill Mouliom provided nine points off the bench
 
Charleston Individual Highlights
-Forward Lamont McManus had a big game for the Golden Eagles as he finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and three assists
-Forward Devon Robinson added 12 points and seven boards
-Guard Dre Rackley notched 12 points
 
Up Next:
Following a break for Christmas, Malone will return to action at home on January 2 with an 8:00 p.m. G-MAC contest against Cedarville University.