Looking to bounce back from a loss to Hillsdale on Thursday, the Malone University men's basketball narrowly missed pulling off the upset of NCAA DII #17 University of Findlay Saturday afternoon at Findlay, ultimately falling 81-75 in Croy Gymnasium. The Pioneers trimmed a 16-point, second-half deficit all the way down to one with three minutes to go, but could not get over the hump.
 
With the loss, Malone dropped to 5-5 on the season and 1-3 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Findlay, who led from start to finish, improved to 8-1 on the year and 3-1 in G-MAC play.
 
Recap
Senior guard Nate Sheppard, who entered the contest leading the G-MAC in scoring at 21.9 points per game, scored both of the Pioneers' first two buckets in the early going and looked well on his way to putting up big numbers once again. He, however, missed each of his final 15 field goal attempts and finished the game with just five points.
 
Without Sheppard's scoring prowess on full display, junior Bryce Butler and sophomore Jaret Majestic picked up the slack combining for 19 first-half points, but Malone, which missed 10 of its first 11 three-pointers in the half, still trailed 42-31 heading into the break.
 
Findlay pushed its lead to 16 points at 50-34 just three minutes into the second half before Malone put together a 10-1 run, highlighted by triples from Butler and Majestic, over the next two minutes to cut the lead to just seven points at 51-44.
 
Within minutes, the Oilers countered with a 9-0 run to extend the lead back to 16 (60-44), but Malone refused to go away. By the 5:50 mark, the pesky Pioneers cut it back to single digits when Butler buried a three-point shot to make it a 72-63 contest. A free throw from Butler, a put-back layup from Marcus Ernst, another trey from Majestic, and a fast-break jumper by Butler just below the free-throw line resulted in an 11-0 run and put the Oilers on their heels with just 3:03 left to play.
 
On the next Findlay possession, leading scorer Alex White knocked down a clutch three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to put the Oilers back up by four, 75-71. Moments later, Butler answered once again with a short jumper to trim it down to 75-73, but the Pioneers failed to come any closer. The Oilers would hit 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch while Malone suffered its third straight loss.
 
Game Highlights
-The Oilers improved to 53-4 over its last 57 games on its home floor.
-Malone shot 18-of-38 (47.4%) from the floor and 7-of-12 (58.3%) from three in the second half, but just 11-for-33 (33.3%) from the field and 3-for-16 (18.8%) in the first half.
-Altogether Malone finished 29-for-71 (40.8%) overall, 10-for-28 (35.7%) from three, and 7-of-10 on free throws.
-Findlay shot 29-of-65 (44.6%) overall, 9-of-23 (39.1%) from three and 14-for-22 at the free-throw line.
-Malone (7 turnovers) and Findlay (5 turnovers) both took good care of the basketball, but the Oilers earned a significant 13-2 advantage in points off of turnovers.
-The two teams were even in rebounds (42-42). Findlay held the edge in second-chance points (12-8) and fast-break points (15-5). The Pioneers maintained a 32-30 lead on points in the paint and a 26-14 edge in bench points.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Bryce Butler finished with a career-high 26 points (10-17 FG, 3-4 3PT, 3-4 FT), three rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
-Jaret Majestic accounted for 17 points (5-9 3PT, 2-2 FT) and two assists in 27 minutes off the bench.
-Sehill Mouliom tallied a season-high nine points, three boards and a block in 19 minutes off the bench.
-Senior starting forward Ben Evans collected eight points, four rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal.
-Marcus Ernst totaled a team-high 12 rebounds, four blocks, and three assists.
-Junior point guard Daylan Haynie added six points and a game-high six assists.
 
Findlay Individual Highlights
-Alex White led all scorers with 28 points. He completed the double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds in addition to six blocked shots.
-Aaron Overhiser collected his own double-double, finishing with 17 points and 10 boards.
 
Up Next
Malone remains on the road for G-MAC play next week, visiting Trevecca Nazarene University on Thursday, December 13th.