The Malone University men's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to pull away for a 77-68 home win over visiting Hillsdale College on Saturday afternoon at Osborne Hall.

The victory gives the Pioneers eight wins in their last nine contests and marks Malone's first five-game winning streak since February of last season.

The nine-point triumph avenged a 77-51 road loss to the Chargers back on December 7th, improved the Pioneers' record to 17-7 and 10-6 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and gave Malone back-to-back wins over the top two teams in the league standings (after having knocked off NCAA DII #11 University of Findlay 82-71 on Thursday).

The Chargers, meanwhile, slipped to 17-6 overall and 11-5 in the G-MAC following the defeat. 
 
Game Recap
In a low scoring first half, Malone jumped out to a 21-11 lead with a little more than five minutes to play before Hillsdale fought back, using a 13-4 scoring run to pull within 25-24 at intermission.

The Chargers then carried over the momentum into the early stages of the second half, scoring the first six points of the frame to grab a 30-25 advantage.

Pioneer guard Nate Sheppard quickly erased the deficit, hitting back-to-back three-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor to put Malone in front.  Minutes later, another Sheppard trey kick-started a 9-0 Malone surge that also included three-pointers from forward Ben Evans and guard Ty Jordan.

Down 46-36, Hillsdale would close the gap to six thanks to a lay-up and then a pair of free throws from 6-8 forward Nick Czarnowski.

However, another three from Evans and a jumper from forward Mitchell Spotleson quickly ballooned the Malone lead back to double digits.  The Chargers would cut it to 53-46 on a three-pointer by Mike Travlos with a little less than 10 minutes to go, but would get no closer the rest of the way as Malone reached 17 wins in a season for the first time since 2010-11.
 
Game Highlights
-After shooting only 34.5% (10 of 29) from the floor in the first half, Malone knocked down 16 of 27 attempts (59.3%), including nine of 13 (69.2%) three-pointers, over the final 20 minutes.
-Overall, Malone shot 46.4% (26 of 56) from the field and 52% (13 of 25) from three-point range
-Hillsdale struggled to get on track offensively for much of the afternoon, making just 33.3% (24 of 72) of their attempts, including eight of 30 (26.7%) from long range
-The Chargers held a 45-43 edge it total rebounds including a 13-5 edge on the offensive glass
-Malone dished out 19 assists on 26 made baskets
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Jordan finished with a game-high 17 points, all of which came in the second half.  He also matched his season-high with eight assists, secured five rebounds, blocked two shots and grabbed a steal
-Sheppard knocked down five three-pointers, finishing with 16 points, six boards and three assists
-Evans posted a career-high 13 points after connecting on three attempts from long range.  He also grabbed five boards in 18 productive minutes off the bench
-Forward Djuro Pantos registered 12 points and eight rebounds
-Spotleson tallied nine points, 12 rebounds and three assists
 
Hillsdale Individual Highlights
-Forward Gordon Behr paced Hillsdale with 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots
-Czarnowski tallied 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists
-Guard Ryan Badowski contributed 10 points and nine rebounds
 
Up Next:
Malone will continue its four-game homestand on Thursday when it welcomes Kentucky Wesleyan College to Osborne Hall for a 6:00 p.m. contest