The Malone University men's basketball team posted a 68-39 victory on Friday afternoon over Waynesburg University to round out the non-conference portion of their schedule. The Pioneers have now won three straight games and won six of their last seven contests. Malone moves to 8-5 overall and head into Christmas break with a 2-1 record in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Waynesburg remains winless at 0-11.
 
The Pioneer defense held the Yellow Jackets to just 39 points, the least amount of points an opponent has scored against Malone since 2010 against Ohio State-Mansfield.
 
Game Recap:
Waynesburg scored a bucket on their opening offensive possession to take a 2-0 lead, however the Malone defense made it tough to score for the rest of the game. The Pioneers tried to pick up the pace, but the Yellow Jackets forced some tough shots and were able to keep it close in the opening minutes. From 13 minutes left in the half until under seven minutes left, Waynesburg went scoreless as Malone took a commanding 25-6 lead. The 17-0 scoring run for the Pioneers was highlighted by freshman Bo Myers who scored six points.
 
Waynesburg fought back and went on an 8-0 run themselves after an and-one from Isaiah Alonzo, a lay-up from Brennan Smith and a three-point jumper from Frank Bozicevic.
 
Malone took a 28-16 lead into halftime, as the teams combined to shoot 1-of-19 from behind the arc.
 
Daylan Haynie, Eli Ramsey and Marcus Ernst got the second half started with lay-ups to jump start the Pioneer offense after the first half left a sour taste in their mouths. Ramsey connected on the first three-point shot of the day for Malone with 14 minutes remaining as a part of an 11-0 run.
 
Bo Myers led all scorers with 20 points and netted ten straight Pioneer points on two shots from deep and a pair of lay-ups to extend the lead to 56-29 with just under ten minutes to play.
 
Kenneth McCollough-Lomax Jr. converted a lay-up from Jaret Majestic after a hustle play from Erwin Gutic to gather an offensive rebound on a missed free throw. On the next possession, Gutic knocked down his first three-point field goal of his young career as the Pioneers coasted to a 68-39 win.
 
Game Highlights:
- The Pioneers owned the painted area in Friday's win and scored 46 of 68 total points inside.
- Malone made the most of Yellow Jacket turnovers as well. The defense forced 18 turnovers in the game that led to 24 Pioneer points.
- Off the bench, Malone outscored Waynesburg 25-4. Bo Myers was called into action just before the first media timeout and reached the 20-point plateau for the fifth time this season.
 
Malone Individual Highlights:
- Bo Myers shot 9-of-11 in the game to score 20 points. He also collected four rebounds and one steal.
- Marcus Ernst and Sehill Mouliom both finished with double-doubles: Ernst with 11 points and 13 boards, and Mouliom had 12 points with 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.
- Daylan Haynie and Eli Ramsey netted eight points apiece.
 
Waynesburg Individual Highlights:
- Ryan Felberg led the Yellow Jackets in the scoring column with 11 points and possessed five rebounds.
- Brennan Smith reached double-digits as well with 10 points, including eight in the second half. Smith led the team by dishing out four assists and pulled down four defensive rebounds.
- Isaiah Alonzo tallied seven points and accumulated a team-high nine boards.
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers are off for the holidays and return to action on Thursday, January 2 with a home doubleheader against G-MAC opponent Trevecca Nazarene. The women's game will tip-off at 6 pm and the men to follow at 8 pm.