The Malone University men's basketball team registered a 90-76 home victory on Saturday afternoon during its Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest against Tiffin University.

The Pioneers took a commanding 54-31 halftime lead after knocking down over 65% (21 of 32) of their first-half shot attempts.  Malone then maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the final stanza en route to its eighth victory of the season.

The Pioneers improved to 8-7 overall and 3-5 in conference with the win while the Dragons slipped to 5-10 and 1-6 in the G-MAC.
 
Game Recap
After trailing 5-4 in the opening moments of the game, Malone went on a 13-2 scoring run to open up a 17-7 advantage just over five minutes into the contest.

Guard Bryce Butler got the Pioneer surge going by connecting on a three and then scoring on a driving lay-up.  Forward Marcus Ernst would follow with a pair of free throws before guard Nate Sheppard drained a pair of three-pointers to put the hosts in front by 10.

Malone would then slowly, yet steadily add to its lead over the remainder of the opening stanza before heading to the locker room holding a 23-point edge.

The Pioneers scored the first 10 points of the final period to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 64-31.

The Dragons would whittle away at Malone's lead down the stretch, but were unable to overcome the  big deficit.
 
Game Highlights
-The 54 points in the first half on Saturday marked the most in a half for the Pioneers this season
-Malone shot 50% or better for the third consecutive game, making 30 of 60 attempts from the field on Saturday
-The Pioneers also reached the 50% mark from beyond the arc for the second time this season as the squad knocked down 13 of 24 triples (54.2%)
-Tiffin finished the day having made 38.4% (28 of 73) of its shots from the floor, 24% (six of 25) of its treys and 87.5% (14 of 16) of its free throws
-The Dragons held a slim 42-40 edge in rebounds and a slight 36-34 edge on points in the paint
-Malone tallied 17 fast-break points and handed out 18 assists
 
Malone Individual Highlights
- Sheppard hit four three-pointers and paced the Pioneers with 18 points
-Forward Ben Evans recorded his first career double-double with 17 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, a career-high four blocks and tied his previous career high with four assists
-Butler tallied 17 points and five assists
-Despite battling foul trouble, Ernst registered nine points and six rebounds
-Sehill Mouliom contributed a season-high 11 points to go with five rebounds
-Guard Daylan Haynie notched eight points and six assists
 
Tiffin Individual Highlights
-Forward Shane Waldon tossed in 26 points to go with 11 rebounds and three blocks
-Guard Hunter Schmalz posted 10 points and five rebounds off the bench
-Forward Braxton Fasone and guard Austin Schaub each notched nine points
 
Up Next:
Malone will make the short trip to North Canton next Saturday (January 12) for a 3:00 pm contest against rival Walsh University.