The Malone University men's basketball team returns to Great Midwest Athletic Conference competition this weekend with two home games at Osborne Hall. On Thursday, January 2, the Pioneers will do battle with the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans at 8 pm. Malone is back in action on Saturday, January 4 with an afternoon game against the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers at 3 pm.
 
Follow Along:
Malone vs Trevecca Nazarene
Thursday, January 2 at 8 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
Radio: ESPN 990 AM | http://www.espn990.com/listen.php
 
Malone vs Kentucky Wesleyan
Saturday, January 4 at 3 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
Radio: ESPN 990 AM | http://www.espn990.com/listen.php
 
Series History:
In only six matchups since joining the G-MAC, Malone is 5-1 versus Trevecca Nazarene all-time. Last season, the Pioneers picked up a pair of lopsided victories, including an 80-54 win in Nashville and an 81-54 triumph at home.
 
Malone is 2-5 in seven total meetings against the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan. In 2018-19, Malone was swept by the Panthers in two games. In a mid-February game last season, Kentucky Wesleyan was down 10 late in the second half, but dug themselves out of the hole with a flurry of defensive stops. They held Malone to only four points over the final eight minutes in their own gymnasium as the Panthers stole a 62-60 victory.
 
Malone Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 8-5 (2-1 G-MAC)
 
The Pioneers got off to a decent conference start, bouncing back after a loss to Cedarville with wins versus Ohio Dominican and Tiffin. In their last game, the Pioneers picked up a 68-39 victory against Waynesburg.
 
In an odd numerical statistic, Malone has scored exactly 1,000 points as a team in the 13 games prior to the start of the new calendar year. Only two other G-MAC teams have crossed the 1,000-point threshold before 2020 began. On average, the Pioneers are scoring 76.9 points per contest in the 2019-20 season.
 
The last Malone Athlete of the Week of the decade ended up being men's basketball forward Marcus Ernst, who is having a fantastic start to his junior season. Ernst registered his fifth double-double of the season in a win over Waynesburg with 11 points and 13 rebounds. The big man leads the team and is third in the conference in rebounds per game (8.8).
 
Ernst was not the only one with a double-double in the final game of 2019 for Malone, as Sehill Mouliom also converted double-digit points and rebounds with 12 points and 11 boards. It is the second time Mouliom has accumulated more than 10 rebounds in a game this season.
 
In the game against Waynesburg, freshman Bo Myers led all scorers with 20 points. It is the fifth time this season that Myers has scored at least 20 points in a game. In home games against these two opponents last season, Jaret Majestic went a combined 6-of-9 from deep. Look for Majestic and Myers to get hot from beyond the three point line in this weekend's games.
 
Trevecca Nazarene Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 1-12 (1-3 G-MAC)
 
The Trojans have struggled at the beginning of the season, but look to turn a new leaf with the turn of the decade. Trevecca Nazarene picked up their lone win of the season over Tiffin, who the Pioneers also defeated earlier in the year. Since then, the men's basketball squad has dropped five straight.
 
In the G-MAC, the Trojans have the worst scoring offense (65.7 PPG) and the second-worst scoring defense (allowing 84.7 PPG). Trevecca Nazarene shoots 34.5% from deep, very similar to the Pioneers, who shoot 34.4% from long range.
 
The Trojans have three players that have played over 300 minutes this season in Reed Smith, Austin Wills and Imani Starling. Smith is the team's leading scorer at 11.8 points per game. Wills is a sharpshooter for the Trojans who has made 39-of-93 attempts (42.0%) from 3-point land. Starling came off the bench in the last game against Davenport, but has made 12 starts this season and leads the team with 13 steals.
 
Adam Webb did not appear in the most recent game versus Davenport, but is one of the team's top rebounders at 4.5 per game and has 18 blocked shots (2nd in G-MAC) this season.
 
10 players have made starts for the Trojans this season, and 15 players have seen the floor in at least seven games. Trevecca Nazarene is not shy about changing the line-up and giving different players an opportunity to shine.
 
 
Kentucky Wesleyan Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 4-7 (3-1 G-MAC)
 
The Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers challenged themselves in scheduling three exhibition matchups against NCAA Division I opponents this season, including Saint Louis, Samford and Western Kentucky. They have also squared off with two top 10 ranked opponents in NCAA Division II (Bellarmine and Lincoln Memorial). Kentucky Wesleyan will face Walsh on Thursday before traveling to Osborne Hall on Saturday afternoon. All four wins for the Panthers have come at home, and they are 0-2 in road games against Division II opponents.
 
The Panthers distribute the ball at a high rate and lead the conference in all assist categories. They average 17.9 assists per game and have a 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio. However, the Panthers have some of the lowest rebounding numbers in the country. Kentucky Wesleyan averages just 31.1 total rebounds per game and 7.18 offensive rebounds per game. At 32.3%, the Panthers have the lowest 3-point shooting percentage in the G-MAC and allow opponents to shoot 38.2%, the second-highest in the conference.
 
Adam Goetz is Kentucky Wesleyan's leading scorer at 16.5 points per game. From the field, he shoots a team-high 45.9%, 34.7% from three and 77.3% from the charity stripe. Goetz has scored double-digit points in six consecutive games.
 
Reigning G-MAC Player of the Week Wyatt Battaile has been unstoppable of late. He netted a career-high 27 points against Trevecca Nazarene and was a huge spark off the bench as the Panthers almost knocked off the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters.
 
Mohamed Abu Arisha leads the Panthers in rebounding with 5.1 per game. In the team's last game against Lincoln Memorial, Stew Currie and Zach Hopewell came off the bench and contributed 15 and 13 points, respectively.