The Malone University men's basketball team takes on Lake Erie College in its regular season finale this Saturday, March 2nd at 3:00 pm in Osborne Hall as it celebrates three seniors who will be playing their final collegiate home game. Ben Evans, Rholy Mouliom, and Nate Sheppard will all be honored in a pre-game ceremony immediately following the conclusion of the women's game at approximately 2:30 pm.
 
As the regular season ends comes to a close this weekend, the March Madness begins in earnest next Tuesday for the Pioneers, who, without playing a game on Thursday night, clinched a berth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship by virtue of Kentucky Wesleyan's loss to Findlay.
 
Malone has secured the number seven seed in the G-MAC standings and will meet number two seed Walsh in North Canton during the opening round of the tournament next Tuesday. Without looking ahead, the Pioneers face a tough test in Lake Erie, who enters the weekend two games in front of Malone.
 
GameDay
3/2 Malone vs. Lake Erie – 3:00 pm | Senior Day*
Live video/stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Radio: ESPN 990 AM | www.espn990.com/listen.php
 
*Senior Day ceremonies will begin at approximately 2:30 pm.
 
Series History
Malone is 17-7 in 24 all-time meetings against the Storm, including a 67-64 win in Painesville earlier this season. When the two teams last met in Canton last season, Malone prevailed 66-57.
 
Team Comparison

Category	Malone	Lake Erie
Record (G-MAC)	15-12 (9-10)	16-11 (11-8)
Points per game	74.0	71.9
Points allowed	69.9	67.9
Scoring margin	+4.1	+4.0
FG%	44.9%	42.3%
3-point%	36.6%	31.3%
Free throw%	62.0%	62.7%
FG% defense	44.7%	42.3%
Rebounds	35.9	39.8
Rebound margin	+0.6	+3.9
Turnover margin	+1.0	+1.2

 
Malone Notes

• Senior guard Nate Sheppard scored a game-high 24 points in the win at Lake Erie. He leads the G-MAC in scoring this season, averaging 19.4 points per game and can secure the league scoring title with 10 points this Saturday.
• Sheppard, who also ranks third in the G-MAC with 76 made 3-pointers, needs just 14 points to reach 1,700 for his career. Only one other Pioneer since 1996 has scored as many career points as Sheppard. Tyler Renner, a 2008 grad, finished with 1,777.
• Senior forward Ben Evans, who has 456 career points, is second on the team in made threes (50), three-point efficiency (40.3%), rebounds (5.7 rpg), and blocks (19). Evans has had breakout senior season as the squad's third-leading scorer (9.8 ppg).
• Junior guard Bryce Butler is second on the team in scoring (15.6 ppg) and assists (2.8 apg) and he leads the team in 3-point shooting (46.5%). He also ranks third on the team with 23 steals.
• Butler is coming off of a 25-point performance last Saturday against Walsh, marking the second-most in his career. In 14 games since the start of 2019, he has averaged 17 points per game and climbed to 11th in the G-MAC in scoring.
• Sophomore forward Marcus Ernst is averaging 7.9 points and ranks sixth in the G-MAC with 8.4 rebounds per game. Ernst ranks fifth in the conference with six double-doubles on the season and is second on the team with 27 steals.
• Junior point guard Daylan Haynie leads the team with 33 steals, including at least one in 15 consecutive games. On the offensive end, Haynie is scoring 8.0 ppg, ranks third in the G-MAC in assists (4.9 apg) and is second in the G-MAC (14th in DII) with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• With Haynie running the offense, the Pioneers have been among the nation's best in protecting the basketball, ranking 20th in DII in fewest turnovers per game (10.6).
• Since committing a season-high 20 turnovers against Davis & Elkins on January 24th, Malone has bounced back to average just 8.4 turnovers over the last eight games. Over that time frame, the Pioneers are fourth in DII in fewest turnovers.
• While the Pioneers have been careful with the basketball, they have struggled at the free-throw line. Over the last 11 games, Malone has made just 56.6% of its freebies, the second-worst rate in NCAA basketball regardless of division over that time span. Only DI New Hampshire (56.1%) has shot worse.
• Despite the free throw woes, Malone has secured its third-straight winning season, its third-straight postseason appearance, and could enter the G-MAC Tournament on a high note with a win over Lake Erie on Saturday.
• The Pioneers are 9-5 at home this season where they are shooting 47.4% from the field and 40.2% from three.
   

Lake Erie Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Storm have alternated wins and losses over their last eight games, including a 75-59 loss at Walsh on Thursday night.
• Lake Erie boasts one of the best defenses in the conference, ranking top-3 in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, rebounding, and steals (7.4 spg).
• Junior guard Gabe Kynard is third in the G-MAC in scoring (18.1 ppg) and ninth in the league in steals (40). He was held to 11 points and five turnovers against Malone in January.
• Junior guard Erron James is second on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) and third in the G-MAC with 49 steals.
• Lake Erie is 6-7 on the road this season.