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The Malone University men's basketball team will begin regular season play in the 2019-2020 season this weekend when the Pioneers travel to Hillsdale to face Oakland City and Southern Indiana in the Midwest Region Crossover. Malone will take on Oakland City (IN) on Friday, November 8 at 2:30 pm and meet Southern Indiana on Saturday, November 9 at 5 pm.
 
This season will mark the fifth under head coach Casey Kaufman. Assisting Kaufman on the Malone bench will be fourth year assistant coach Ron Miller and second year assistant coach Nick Williams. Nate Koesel serves as team manager for the second consecutive season as well. "One of our values we have as both a team and a coaching staff is leaning into Jesus and using Him as an example in everything we do," Kaufman mentioned.
 
Growth and patience are concepts that the Pioneer coaching staff is stressing to its players throughout the preseason. "Our goal is to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season. We are growing and focusing on improving daily," said Kaufman. "In practice or before a scrimmage, we have picked out three to four things that we want to get better at and that has helped us to see continuous improvements. Patience is something we have had to work on as we are developing who we are as a team and in a new system."
 
Malone has made the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament for three consecutive years, including last season when the Pioneers finished with an overall record of 15-14. The team boasted the fifth ranked scoring defense in the G-MAC at 70.4 points per game. The Pioneers took care of the basketball and ranked fourth in turnover margin, averaging 1.21 turnovers less than opponents.
 
The conference's leading scorer in Pioneer forward Nate Sheppard graduated after the 2018-2019 season, along with center Ben Evans and guard Rholy Mouliom. The Pioneers have some experience left on the roster, but you will also see a flurry of new faces on Hal Smith Court this season as well.
 
From the senior class, Daylan Haynie and Sehill Mouliom will be mainstays on the floor for Malone.
 
Haynie is responsible for bringing the ball up the floor for the Pioneers at the point guard position. He served as the team's leading assist man last season at 5.0 per game and led the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1).
 
Mouliom was a factor off the bench last season, but will be asked to serve in a bigger role, especially defensively, this year at the center position. In the exhibition game against NCAA Division I Akron on Tuesday, Mouliom scored 23 points and secured nine rebounds, both marks career highs for the big man.
 
Juniors Marcus Ernst and Jaret Majestic will join Haynie and Mouliom as veterans on the Pioneer squad.
 
Ernst led the team and was sixth in the conference in rebounds with 8.1 per game. Ernst will see a different role this season at the 4-spot and has added valuable assets to his game that will change the way he plays.
 
Majestic has been a player who shines the brightest in big games. Last season, Majestic had his two highest scoring totals of the season in both regular season games against rival Walsh, scoring 22 and 20 points, with a combined 12-21 shooting from 3. He has developed into a true playmaker for the Pioneers and will look to create more than ever on the floor this season.
 
Justin Miller will take a redshirt year as a junior after transferring from Tiffin University. Miller has great work ethic and does a good job at getting younger guys involved and gathering the team around him.
 
Tracey Sumner, Eli Ramsey and Kenneth McCullough-Lomax Jr. are talented sophomores for the Pioneers that all look to take a huge step forward in progressing the basketball program as a whole.
 
Sumner was a member of the Club Basketball team last season, but has made the leap to the varsity roster for 2019-2020. Sumner is a guard from Delaware, Ohio and Hayes High School that has high energy on and off the court. The energy he creates in practice pushes his teammates to perform at a high level day in and day out.
 
Ramsey is a gritty player that understands the Pioneer way and executes well. Guarding different types of players from game to game will be the biggest challenge Ramsey will take on this season from the guard position.
 
Last but not least in the sophomore class is a guard/forward from Atlanta, Georgia, Kenneth McCullough-Lomax Jr. McCullough-Lomax is stronger coming into this season and looks very comfortable in the Pioneers new style of play.
 
Kaufman has brought in five proficient freshmen in his 2019 recruiting class that will make an immediate impact. "The biggest thing from the younger guys is developing consistency. You can see flashes of it in practice or at a scrimmage and we want to put all of that skill together as we go throughout our season because we are depending on them to play well," Kaufman noted.
 
First up is Bo Myers. Myers is a forward from Rockbridge, Ohio and Logan High School. Myers is known for his on-court versatility and plays with a lot of natural confidence.
 
Next is a guard from Columbia, Maryland: Cameron Watts. Patience has been the main objective for Watts as a ball-handling guard. He is learning and soaking in the speed of the college game and a new offense.
 
Erwin Gutic is a tall center from Sarajevo, Bosnia. He plays a similar role to Ben Evans in that he shoots the ball well from the 5-spot.
 
Levi Seiler is a forward from Wauseon, Ohio and Wauseon High School. Seiler has good program values, works hard every day and has taken in the new offensive system well and learned a lot at the college level so far.
 
Bryan Warah is a physical body at 6'6 and 210 pounds from Springdale, Ohio and Purcell Marian High School. He will look to push opponents around from the 4-spot.
 
After the Pioneers participate in the Midwest Region Crossover, they will play in seven non-conference games. Included in this, is the Malone home opener at Osborne Hall on Saturday, November 16 versus Bethany College. The Pioneers open up conference play on Saturday, December 7 in a home game against Cedarville. Rivalry games against Walsh will take place on Monday, February 17 and Wednesday, February 26 (56th Annual Mayors' Cup Game).