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The Malone University men's basketball team suffered a 70-64 defeat on Saturday in its regular-season finale at Lake Erie College.

The Pioneers, who now own a 19-9 overall record and a 12-8 mark in Great Midwest Athletic Conference games, will compete in next week's G-MAC Postseason Tournament as the No. 4 seed.  The Storm, meanwhile, improved to 15-13 overall and 10-10 in conference games with Saturday's victory and have earned the tournament's No. 7 seed.

The eight-team event will be hosted March 1-3 by the top seed, the University of Findlay.  Malone will face the No. 5 seed, Ohio Dominican University, in an opening-round contest on Thursday, March 1 at 8:30 pm.^.  
 
Game Recap
Lake Erie used an early 13-0 scoring run to grab a 17-5 advantage seven minutes into game.  Despite the Pioneers' best efforts, Malone was never able to fully recover from the slow start.

The Pioneers went to the locker room down 33-24 after shooting just 29% from the floor over the first 20 minutes which included a 3-for-14 showing from beyond the three-point arc.

Baskets by seniors Ty Jordan, Djuro Pantos and Mitchell Spotleson fueled a quick 6-0 Malone run at the start of the second half that pulled the Pioneers to within five at 35-30.

The Storm would slowly extend their lead back out to double digits, pulling in front 53-41 on a three-pointer by Michael Morris with 8:33 to play.

The Pioneers refused to go away quietly, though, as guard Nate Sheppard and Spotleson combined to outscore Lake Erie 10-2 over the next two and a half minutes, trimming the deficit down to 55-51.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the four-point margin was as close as Malone would get.  Another Morris three-pointer, this one an off-balance heave as the shot clock winded down, jump started an 11-3 Lake Erie run that gave the Storm a commanding 66-54 lead with less than two minutes left.

Spotleson pulled the Pioneers to within six in the final moments after sandwiching a three-pointer and a lay-up around a quick steal in the Storm backcourt.  But it was not enough to close the gap as Lake Erie earned a split of the season series with Malone.
 
Game Highlights
-The Pioneers ended the game having made 35.4% of their attempts from the field, their second-lowest shooting performance of the season.  Malone also went eight of 31 (25.8%) from long range and made 10 of 15 foul shots
-The Storm countered by sinking 47.2% (25 of 53) of its attempts, including nine of 22 (40.9%) from three-point land.  Lake Erie struggled at the line, making just 11 of 26 free throws.
-Lake Erie held a 43-38 edge in total rebounds and outscored Malone 30-26 in the paint
-The Pioneers committed a season-low four turnovers on the afternoon and also grabbed six steals
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Spotleson registered a career-high 26 points to lead the way for Malone.  The senior went nine of 18 from the field, making four of nine treys and all four of his foul shots.  He also grabbed eight boards and two steals
-Jordan posted 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists
-Sheppard scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.  He also grabbed four rebounds and handed out three assists
-Pantos ended the game with six points and seven rebounds
 
Lake Erie Individual Highlights
-Gabe Kynard posted a team-high 19 points for Lake Erie
-Morris hit four three-pointers, ending the game with 16 points
-Erron James had 10 points and nine boards