The Malone University men's basketball team will host archrival Walsh University on Saturday in the 55th Annual Mayors' Cup.

Tip-off is slated for 3:00 p.m. in Malone's Osborne Hall. Bragging rights and postseason positioning will be on the line as, following Saturday's match up, only one Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest remains on each team's regular-season schedule.

The Cavaliers are currently second in the G-MAC standings with a 14-4 conference record while the Pioneers are seventh with a 9-9 league mark.  The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings will qualify for the G-MAC Postseason Tournament and the top four seeds will host opening-round games on Tuesday, March 5.

Malone claimed a 69-62 victory over Walsh in North Canton back on January 12.  With a win on Saturday, Malone would register two victories over Walsh in the same season for the first time since 1998-99.
 
GameDay
2/23 Walsh at Malone – 3:00 pm
Live Video/Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/Malone
Audio: ESPN 990 AM, www.espn990.com/listen.php
 
Series History
Walsh holds a 77-41 edge in the overall series between the two teams.  Malone's victory back in January snapped a 13-game winning streak in the series for the Cavaliers.  In Mayors' Cup contests, Walsh owns a 35-19 advantage, having claimed the trophy in each of the last 11 years.  The Pioneers' last Mayors' Cup win came in 2006-07 at Osborne Hall by a final score of 79-72.
 
Malone Notes
-The Pioneers enter Saturday on a two-game winning streak with an 81-54 triumph over Trevecca Nazarene University last Saturday and an 82-73 non-conference victory against Kentucky Christian University this past Tuesday.  Malone is 9-4 at home this year.
-Nate Sheppard poured in 24 points during Tuesday's win against KCU and continues to lead the G-MAC in scoring with an average of 19.6 points per game.  Sheppard also ranks fourth in the conference with an average of 2.8 three-pointers per contest.  The redshirt senior was held to 10 points in the January win over Walsh but also grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds in that contest
-Jaret Majestic has hit three treys in each of his last three games.  The sophomore sharpshooter drained six triples on his way to a team-high 20 points in the win at Walsh in January. 
-Bryce Butler totaled 17 points, five assists and three rebounds in Tuesday's game.  On the season, the junior ranks second on the team in scoring (15.2 ppg) and has made a team-best 45.7% (43 of 94) of his shots from beyond the arc.  He totaled 19 points and five rebounds in the victory over Walsh earlier this season
-Daylan Haynie filled up the stat sheet with eight points, five assists and five rebounds in the win over Kentucky Christian on Tuesday.  On the season, the junior ranks third in the G-MAC in assists (4.8 per game) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9)
-Marcus Ernst tallied his sixth double-double of the season on Tuesday with 12 points and ten boards.  He currently ranks sixth in the G-MAC with an average of 8.6 rebounds per game
-Ben Evans is averaging 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this year.  Evans, who has made a three-pointer in nine straight games, is shooting over 40% from long range this season
 
Walsh Notes
-The Cavaliers enter Saturday's contest on an eight-game win streak, having been victorious in nine of 10 since the January 12 loss to the Pioneers
-Walsh has not played since this past Saturday when it downed Kentucky Wesleyan College by an 81-60 final
-The Cavs rank second in the G-MAC in scoring defense (65.5 points per outing) and lead the league in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to convert on just over 40% of their shot attempts
- JT Shumate is second in the league in scoring behind only Sheppard with an average of 19.3 points per game.  Shumate is also averaging 6.3 rebounds per outing and has drained 45% of his three-pointers on the season. The freshman scored a game-high 22 points in the first meeting of the season between Malone and Walsh
-Darryl Straughter leads the conference in three-pointers made with 80.  He is shooting 41.7% from distance this season while averaging 15.5 points per game.  He also ranks first in the G-MAC in free-throw percentage, having made 90.7% of his charity tosses
-Sterling Christy is averaging 13.3 points per game.  He ranks third in the conference with an average of 9.6 boards per outing, is second in field-goal percentage at 56.7%, third in blocked shots (1.4 per game) and eighth in assists (3.3 per game).
-The Cavs are 6-6 in games played away from home this season.