The Malone University men's basketball team will host Kentucky Wesleyan College this Thursday, February 14th and Trevecca Nazarene University this Saturday, February 16th to open up a season-ending five-game homestand.
 
With two wins this week, combined with a Kentucky Wesleyan to Walsh on Saturday, Malone would clinch its third straight berth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. The Pioneers enter the week in seventh place in the G-MAC Standings while Kentucky Wesleyan is clinging to ninth place. Trevecca Nazarene enters the week in last place in the G-MAC but still represents a tough test and could be the only thing standing between Malone and a playoff bid by the end of the week.
 
GameDay
2/14 Malone vs. Kentucky Wesleyan – 8:00 pm*
2/16 Malone vs. Trevecca Nazarene – 3:00 pm*
Live Video/Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Radio (TNU only): ESPN 990 AM | www.espn990.com/listen.php
*The men's game will follow the women's game on both dates.

Team Comparison

Category	Malone	KWC	TNU
Record (G-MAC)	13-10 (8-8)	7-13 (5-9)	2-17 (2-12)
Points per game	74.5	67.4	57.9
Points allowed	70.5	69.1	79.7
Scoring margin	+4.0	-2.7	-21.8
FG%	45.0%	43.3%	41.1%
3-point%	36.3%	36.4%	34.7%
Free throw%	62.6%	72.5%	71.8%
FG% defense	44.1%	43.2%	47.8%
Rebounds	36.8	33.1	26.9
Rebound margin	+1.7	+1.2	-12.2
Turnover margin	+0.3	-2.9	-3.8

 
Series History
Malone is 2-4 against Kentucky Wesleyan since beginning the rivalry during the 2016-17 season. In their most recent matchup, the Panthers ran out to a 19-2 lead on their way to a 75-63 victory over the Pioneers in Owensboro on December 15th. The last time the two teams met in Canton (Feb. 8, 2018), Malone prevailed 86-70.
 
Against Trevecca Nazarene, Malone is 4-1 in five all-time meetings, including an 80-54 win over the Trojans on December 13th in Nashville where Malone outscored TNU 46-24 in the second half. When the two teams met in Canton last February, Malone scored the final five points in a 74-71 triumph.

Malone Notes

• The Pioneers are coming off of a 1-1 week highlighted by a 65-63 win at Alderson Broaddus when Bryce Butler scored the game-winning basket with 0.8 seconds remaining. Two days later, Malone lost 73-71 at Davis & Elkins on a game-winning layup with 0.7 seconds left. The Pioneers will look to put that loss behind them on Thursday.
• Sophomore forward Marcus Ernst scored a career-high 20 points in the loss to D&E. At AB, he collected a career-high 16 rebounds – tied for the most by a Pioneer in a single game in the last 12 seasons.
• Ernst, who has five double-doubles on the year and three in the last five games, is quickly emerging as one the G-MAC's best rebounders. Over the past seven games, he has pulled down 85 rebounds (12.1 rpg). On the season, Ernst, who also averages 7.6 points per game, is fifth in the conference with 8.7 rebounds per game.
• Senior Nate Sheppard remains the G-MAC's leading scorer at 19.3 points per game and ranks second in the conference with 66 made three-pointers. He has at least two treys in 19 of 23 games this season.
• Sheppard has also scored at least 20 points 11 times this season, including a game-high 27 at Trevecca Nazarene in December.
• Against Kentucky Wesleyan, senior forward Ben Evans scored a team-high 20 points – the second-most of his career. Evans is the team's third leading scorer this season at 10.7 points per game, but he missed Malone's last game at Davis & Elkins.
• Bryce Butler is Malone's second leading scorer, averaging 15.3 points per game, and is the most efficient three-point shooter at 46.3% (37-80). Since being held to just four points at KWC in December, the junior guard has scored at least 11 points in each of the last 11 games, averaging 16.7 points over the stretch.
• Backcourt mate Daylan Haynie recently reached 300 career assists last Saturday. On the season, Haynie leads the Pioneers and ranks fourth in the G-MAC with 4.7 assists per game. The junior guard is also averaging 8.7 points and leads the team with 28 steals.
• The Pioneers are 7-3 at home this season where they average 81.6 points and shoot 48.5% from the field and 41.0% from three. By comparison, they average 68.8 points and shoot 41.9% (31.7% from three) on the road.
• Malone is 9-0 this season when it shoots a higher percentage from three-point range than its opponent.
• Malone enters Thursday night's game having lost seven straight games played on Valentine's Day - all seven heartbreakers by single digits.
   

Kentucky Wesleyan Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Panthers have lost five straight games and seven of their last eight games overall. Most recently, KWC suffered an 85-81 home loss to Tiffin in which junior guard Adam Goetz scored a team-high 21 points.
• Goetz leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 14.8 points per game.
• Junior forward Mohamed Abu Arisha, who leads the team and ranks seventh in the G-MAC in rebounding (8.0 rpg), is averaging 11.9 points per game. Against Malone earlier this season, Abu Arisha went 10-of-11 from the field and finished with a game-high 27 points and 11 rebounds.
• As a team, KWC is 12th in the G-MAC in scoring offense, but fourth in scoring defense and field goal defense.
• The Panthers are second in the G-MAC in three-pointers per game (10.2) and have made at least 11 threes in 11 games this season.

 

Trevecca Nazarene Notes -  Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Trevecca has just one win in the last 10 games, a 83-74 triumph over Tiffin last Thursday in which they made a school record 17 three-pointers. TNU ranks third in the G-MAC with 9.8 made three-pointers per game.
• Guard Evan Ragsdale leads the team in scoring (11.2 ppg) and is shooting 43.4% from beyond the arc.
• Guard Austin Wills is scoring 10.6 ppg and leads the team with 51 made three-pointers.
• The Trojans, who boast just one player taller than 6'3" are last in the country in blocked shots (11). They also have the third-lowest scoring margin in DII.
• Trevecca, which plays at Walsh on Saturday, enters the week with an 0-10 record on the road.