The Malone University men's basketball team goes on the road for a non-conference game at Clarion University, before returning home for their Great Midwest Athletic Conference opener versus the Yellow Jackets of Cedarville University. The matchup against Clarion takes place on Wednesday, December 4 with tip-off scheduled for 7 pm. At Osborne Hall on Saturday, December 7, Malone and Cedarville will do battle at 2 pm.
 
Follow Along:
Malone @ Clarion
Wednesday, December 4 at 7 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/clarion/
 
Malone vs Cedarville (G-MAC Opener)
Saturday, December 7 at 2 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
Series History:
The Pioneers are 3-10 all-time versus the Clarion Golden Eagles. This will be the second year of a home-and-home series between the teams. Last season, Malone hosted Clarion and won 83-68. The teams squared off twice per season in the 60s, but met for the first time since 1977 by scheduling a non-conference game in back-to-back years.
 
Behind only Walsh, Cedarville is Malone's most common opponent. With a history dating all the way back to 1958, the Pioneers are 54-44 all-time against the Yellow Jackets. In conference play last season, Malone faced Cedarville on the second day of 2019 and were upended 87-76 in the only matchup between the two squads.
 
Malone Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 4-4
 
The Pioneers are winners of two straight heading into Wednesday's game. Malone picked up a 116-82 victory over Carlow on Wednesday and defeated Point Park by a score of 79-76 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Sehill Mouliom scored a career-high 23 points and brought down nine boards in Wednesday's win. His performances last week's games garnered a Malone Athlete of the Week honor for the senior. He shot 76.5% from the field against Carlow and Point Park as well as gathered 10 offensive rebounds in the last two games.
 
Marcus Ernst led the team in scoring versus Point Park with 19 points and a game-high eight rebounds. On the season, he is the team's most efficient scorer (15.9 PPG) and rebounder (8.0 RPG). He makes his paint presence known with 13 of Malone's 18 team blocked shots.
 
In last season's game against Clarion, Daylan Haynie recorded a season-high in points with 18 in the game. He shot 7-of-10 from the field, hit his only shot from behind the arc, recorded three steals and dished out a team-high six assists.
 
As a team, the Pioneers shot 34-of-52 (65.4%) from the field against the Golden Eagles last season and look to take that same kind of shooting success into Wednesday's game. In games away from Osborne Hall this season, Malone is shooting 108-of-244 (44.3%). They have had their best shooting night (63.0% at Charleston) and worst shooting night (30.6% at Wheeling) in games on the road.
 
One of the team's most efficient shooters is Eli Ramsey. Ramsey has a field goal percentage of 48.9% in the 2019-20 season. Ramsey was also responsible for the game-saving block on the game-tying three-point attempt by Point Park last weekend.
 
Clarion Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 1-5
 
The Golden Eagles will enter the game Wednesday against the Pioneers with a 1-5 record, but their last game was an exciting win over G-MAC opponent Lake Erie 64-62. Jarrod Stukes converted the game-winning lay-up as time expired to knock the goose egg out of the win column for Clarion. Stukes has started five games in his sophomore season.
 
The leading scorer for the Golden Eagles this season is Stevan Rodriguez. Rodriguez averages 13.8 points per game and has come off the bench to be a scoring threat in five of the team's six games.
 
Elijah Cottrill lit up the scoreboard against the Pioneers last season. He scored 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting and recorded five steals. In the last two games, he has struggled from the field, going just 3-of-22, but had six assists against Lake Erie.
 
Kaison Branch does it all for Clarion in the young season. Branch scores 13.5 points per game and leads the team in rebounds (5.5 RPG) and assists (3.8 APG). From the field, Branch shoots 50.0% overall and 53.8% from deep.
 
Aaron Hilzendeger is Clarion's primary perimeter shooter. Hilzendeger has knocked down 20 threes this season and averages 12.7 points per contest.
 
James Price is the final starter for the Golden Eagles. He is 20-of-34 (58.8%) from the field as a 6'7 sophomore.
 
Cedarville Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 2-4
 
The Yellow Jackets are only 2-4 this season, but have played an incredibly tough schedule in both the pre-season and regular season. Cedarville faced NCAA Division I opponents Valparasio, Ohio State and Dayton in exhibition games and hosted Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opponents Grand Valley State and NCAA Division II #22 Indianapolis in the Don Callan Classic before entering G-MAC play.
 
As a team, Cedarville boasts the third-highest free throw percentage in NCAA Division II at 84.2%. They are currently scoring 83 points per game and rebound at an efficient rate (37.7 RPG).

Lake Erie will travel to Cedarville for the Yellow Jackets' first conference game on Thursday, December 5 before coming to Osborne Hall to face the Pioneers.
 
Conner TenHove always seems to play his best basketball against the Pioneers. The 6'7 junior has played three career games against Malone and averages 27 points and eight rebounds per game. In the only game against one another last season, TenHove exploded for a career-high 32 points. Two of his top three career scoring games have come at Osborne Hall. TenHove leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
Branden Maughmer, a sophomore from Chilicothe, Ohio, leads the team in scoring at 20.2 points per game. He scored a career-high 31 points against Truman State in the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament. Maughmer also rebounds well for a guard, bringing down 6.8 rebounds per game and dishes out a team-high 5.0 assists per game.
 
Quinton Green, Kollin Van Horn and Demond Parker round out the starting five for Cedarville. Isaiah Speelman contributes 11.2 points per game off the bench as well.