The Malone University men's basketball team will look to extend its three-game winning streak this week with a pair of Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) home affairs on the docket. The Pioneers welcome Davis & Elkins College this Thursday, January 24th at 8:00 pm before hosting Alderson Broaddus University on Saturday, January 26th at 3:00 pm.
 
The Pioneers have played just two games in the past two weeks, but have been victorious in both. Malone enters this week in ninth place in the G-MAC Standings, just a game back of a tie for fifth. The top-8 teams will qualify for the G-MAC Championship Tournament come March.
 
GameDay
1/24 Malone vs. Davis & Elkins – 8:00 pm*
1/26 Malone vs. Alderson Broaddus – 3:00 pm*
Live video/stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Radio: ESPN 990 | www.espn990.com/listen.php
*The men's game will follow the women's game as part of doubleheaders on both dates.
 
Special Recognitions
During halftime of Thursday's game, the Malone men's cross country team will be honored for winning the 2018 G-MAC Cross Country Championship with the unveiling of their Championship banner. During halftime of Saturday's contest, the 2019 Malone University Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees will be recognized.
 
Team Comparison

Category	Malone	D&E	ABU
Record (G-MAC)	10-7 (5-5)	4-12 (1-8)	8-8 (5-4)
Points per game	75.8	71.4	74.6
Points allowed	70.8	81.2	75.8
Scoring margin	+5.0	-9.8	-1.2
FG%	45.5%	41.9%	45.7%
3-point%	36.3%	32.2%	36.6%
Free throw%	64.5%	66.4%	69.4%
FG% defense	44.3%	46.0%	45.6%
Rebounds	35.9	38.1	36.1
Rebound margin	+1.2	-0.6	+2.3
Turnover margin	+0.8	-2.4	-1.3

Series History
Against Davis & Elkins, Malone is 6-2 all-time, including a pair of close wins last season. At home last winter, the Pioneers overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to top the Senators 71-65. Then in Elkins last January, neither team led by more than seven points, but Malone ultimately prevailed 68-63.
 
Against Alderson Broaddus, Malone is 2-2 in four all-time meetings, all four of which have come over the last two seasons. In 2017-18, the Pioneers lost their home matchup with the Battlers (76-74) despite hitting 14 three-pointers.  Then in West Virginia later in the season, Malone edged AB, 86-85, in double-overtime when Ty Jordan hit the game-winning jumper with 2.2 seconds left.

Malone Notes

• The Pioneers are coming off of a 67-64 win over Lake Erie last Thursday in their only game of the week. Senior Nate Sheppard led all scorers with 24 points while junior Bryce Butler chipped in with 18 markers.
• Sheppard enters the week needing just one point to reach 1,500 in his career. He will be the 18th player in Malone history to reach the milestone and by the end of the weekend, he should crack the top-15 on the all-time scoring list.
• So far this season, Sheppard is averaging 19.9 points per game and remains the G-MAC's leading scorer. He is also second in the G-MAC with 50 made three-pointers. Sheppard led Malone in scoring in both wins over D&E last season, including a game-high 23 points in the win in Canton.
• Bryce Butler has developed well as the Pioneers' second option, averaging 15.2 points per game – good for 15th in the G-MAC. He has scored at least 16 points in each of the last five games, a stretch in which Malone is 4-1. On the season, Butler leads the team in shooting percentage (52.2%) and three-point shooting percentage (48.2%) and is second on the squad with 47 assists.
• Junior guard Daylan Haynie (8.4 ppg) leads the team with 85 assists and ranks fourth in the G-MAC with 5.0 assists per game. Haynie also ranks 17th in DII with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio and is second on the team with 19 steals.
• Sophomore forward Marcus Ernst leads Malone in steals (20) and blocks (20) and is one of just two players in the conference with at least 20 of each. Ernst also leads the team and ranks eighth in the G-MAC in rebounds, pulling down 7.4 per night.
• Senior forward Ben Evans is third on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg) and is second on the team in made threes (34) and three-point percentage (39.1%). Among players in DII that are 6'9" or taller, the 6'10" Evans is second in made threes.
• Along with Sheppard and Evans, sophomore guard Jaret Majestic ranks among the top-20 in the G-MAC with 32 made threes. Majestic hit the game-tying three in the final seconds of regulation in the double-OT win at Alderson Broaddus last season.
• Malone enters the week with a 6-2 record at home. In those eight games, the Pioneers are shooting 49.5% from the field and 42.7% from three-point range.

Davis & Elkins Notes -  Roster | Schedule | Stats

• After securing their only G-MAC win of the year on January 12th against Trevecca Nazarene (67-55), the Senators dropped a pair of games last week at Tiffin (89-88) and Cedarville (89-71). So far this season, D&E is just 1-5 on the road.
• In the loss at Tiffin, 6'8" 250-pound center Trevor English totaled 30 points and 15 rebounds in just 29 minutes. On the season, the junior big man leads the team in points (15.3 ppg), rebounds (8.0 rpg), shooting (51.8%) and blocks (15).
• In the second game against Malone last season, English tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds after being held to just two points and six turnovers in the first meeting.
• In the loss at Cedarville last Saturday, 13 different players made at least one field goal, including senior guard Edmund Parker, who finished with a game-high 23 points. On the season, he is averaging 11.9 points and leads the team with 36 made threes.
• Freshman guard Marcus Friend (7.6 ppg) leads the team with 38 assists and leads the G-MAC with 38 steals.
   

Alderson Broaddus Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Battlers, who are 4-4 on the road this season, are coming off of a 1-1 week that featured a 72-56 loss at Cedarville and a come-from-behind 86-85 win at Tiffin on Saturday. In that win, AB trailed by 13 with five minutes to go, but came back late and hit the game-winning jumper with 2.6 seconds to play.
• Senior guard Mike Davis, who knocked down the game-winner, is averaging a team-high 15.5 points this season. Last season, Davis led the G-MAC in scoring (21.8 ppg) and was Second Team All-Conference.
• Davis, a northeast Ohio native, scored 25 against Malone in Canton last season and then put up 38 in the double-OT loss in Philippi. The 38 points were the most points by a Malone opponent all season.
• A total of six Battlers are averaging at least 9.0 points per game, including forward Brandon Simmons, who is second on the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and second in the G-MAC in rebounds (9.5 rpg), but has missed the last three games.
• Forward Malik Bocook, an All-Conference Honorable Mention selection last season, missed five games earlier this season but is averaging 9.4 points and 9.4 rebounds and has 15 blocked shots.