The Malone University men's basketball team suffered a 78-73 defeat at home on Thursday in its Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest against Davis & Elkins College.

The Senators fought back from a nine-point second-half deficit, snapping the Pioneers' three-game winning streak after grabbing 15 steals over the course of the evening and outscoring Malone by a 47-35 margin during the final 20 minutes.

The Pioneers slipped to 10-8 overall and 5-6 in the G-MAC with the loss while Davis & Elkins improved to 5-12 overall and 2-8 in conference games.
 
Game Recap
After the two teams battled through a closely-contested first half, Malone closed out the opening frame on an 8-0 run to take a 38-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Pioneers' defense held the Senators scoreless for the final four and a half minutes of the first period while Ben Evans, Nate Sheppard, Marcus Ernst and Bryce Butler all contributed buckets to give Malone the seven-point cushion at intermission.

The Pioneers twice pushed their lead out to nine in the opening moments of the second half.  An 8-0 surge by the Senators cut the Malone advantage down to one, but the hosts would slowly expand their lead back out to nine at 56-47 with seven and a half minutes to go. 

Unfortunately for the home fans, the Pioneers would manage just three points over the next five and a half minutes as the Senators used a 19-3 run to pull in front 66-59 with two minutes remaining.

Malone refused to go quietly as the hosts got within four points on four separate occasions over the next 90 seconds.  Evans played a large part in keeping the Pioneers in the game as the senior made three treys during that span – the final one making the score 76-72 with 21 seconds to go.  Following a quick foul, the Senators then missed a pair of free throw attempts, giving the ball back to the Pioneers.

After two missed shot attempts and two offensive rebounds, Malone would split a pair of free throws with five seconds to play, cutting the deficit to three at 76-73.  However, Davis & Elkins' Edmund Parker effectively sealed the win for the Senators after draining two foul shots with 4.3 seconds to go, pushing the lead back to five at 78-73.
 
Game Highlights
-Malone shot over 55% from the floor in the first half but also committed an uncharacteristic 13 turnovers during the first 20 minutes
-The Pioneers connected on 44% of their overall shot attempts and 34.4% (11 of 32) of their three-pointers but went just two of six at the foul line
-The Senators, meanwhile, knocked down 42.4% of their field goals and 42.1% (eight of 19) of their treys
-Davis & Elkins also scored 20 points at the charity stripe, sinking 74% (20 of 27) of their foul shots
-Malone held a 42-34 edge in total rebounds
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Butler posted a team-high 19 points to go with four assists and four rebounds
-Evans hit a career-high five three-pointers and finished the night with 17 points and six boards
-Sheppard added 14 points, and in the process, became the 18th player in program history to surpass 1,500 career points.  Sheppard is now 16th on the Pioneers' all-time scoring list with 1,513.
-Ernst tallied seven points and a career-high 14 rebounds
-Guard Daylan Haynie recorded six points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal
-Jaret Majestic contributed eight points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench
 
Davis & Elkins Individual Highlights
-Parker registered a game-high 21 points along with six rebounds
-Center Trevor English tossed in 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out five assists
-Guard Logan Phillips posted 14 points
-Guard Marcus Friend notched eight points, nine steals, five assists and three rebounds
 
Up Next:
Malone will look to bounce back on Saturday as the squad hosts Alderson Broaddus University at 3:00 p.m.