Just two days after defeating Alderson Broaddus with a buzzer-beating layup, the Malone University men's basketball team suffered the opposite fate on Saturday afternoon, falling to Davis & Elkins College 73-71 on a game-winning layup with 0.7 seconds remaining.
 
The back-and-forth contest featured 13 ties and 15 lead changes, neither team led by more than six at any point in the game, and as expected the winner was decided on who had the ball last. With the loss, the second to the Senators in the past two weeks, Malone dropped to 13-10 on the season and 8-8 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Davis & Elkins improved to 6-15 on the year and 3-11 in G-MAC play.
 
Recap
Malone was out and running to begin the contest, racing to a 17-12 lead in the first six-plus minutes, but the pace was slowed drastically over the remainder of the half. Across the final 13:47, the Pioneers totaled 18 points, including the last four tallies of the half on back-to-back baskets by sophomore forward Marcus Ernst, as they led 35-34 at the break.
 
Ernst was extraordinary in the first half, shooting 8-of-9 from the field. His 16 points in the half set a single-game career-high, surpassing his previous career mark of 15.
 
The seesaw second half featured eight ties and 11 lead changes. Malone grabbed its final lead of the game with 5:32 remaining when sophomore guard Jaret Majestic's layup put the Pioneers in front 62-61. Over the next three minutes and 15 seconds, Davis & Elkins countered with an 8-2 run to take a 69-64 lead, its largest of the game, with 2:17 remaining.
 
A three-pointer from senior Nate Sheppard cut it to 69-67 on the next possession. Sheppard then hit a 15-foot jumper near the left elbow with under a minute to play to tie it 69-all.
 
On the following possession, Davis & Elkins's Logan Phillips connected on a five-footer in the paint to give the hosts a 71-69 lead with 19 second to play. Sheppard answered with a layup on Malone's ensuing trip down the court to tie at 71-71 and set up one last shot for the Senators.
 
With just six seconds remaining, Phillips took the inbounds pass and dribbled the length of the court, driving to the basket nearly uncontested. His layup with 0.7 seconds left proved to be the game-winner. Malone had one last hail mary, but came up short of a miracle in a 73-71 defeat.
 
Game Highlights
-The Pioneers, who committed a season-high 20 turnovers against D&E the last time the two teams met, were charted for 15 turnovers on Saturday and were outscored 17-10 in points off of turnovers, including a 10-1 margin in the second half.
-The Senators held a 44-38 advantage in points in the paint a significant 27-8 edge in bench points.
-Malone shot 28-of-60 (46.7%) for the game, but made just 6-of-22 (27.3%) shots from deep.
-Davis & Elkins shot 47.0% (31-of-66) overall and 41.2% (7-of-17) from distance.
-The Pioneers have lost two of their last three games, but remain in seventh place in the G-MAC standings.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Ernst finished 9-of-12 from the field and led all scorers with 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Ernst's double-double was his fifth of the season and his third in the last five games.
-Nate Sheppard scored Malone's final seven points and ended the afternoon with 14 tallies and a season-high four assists.
-Junior guard Bryce Butler totaled 14 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
-Junior guard Daylan Haynie contributed eight points, four boards, three assists, and two steals.
-Majestic provided seven points in his second career start.
 
Davis & Elkins Individual Highlights
-Trevor English led the Senators with 15 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and two blocks.
-Edmund Parker added 11 points.
-Phillips finished with seven points, six rebounds, and a game-high four steals.
 
Up Next
Malone returns home for its final five games of the season, beginning with a February 14th matchup against Kentucky Wesleyan at 8:00 pm.