The Malone University men's basketball team wrapped up its regular-season schedule on Saturday at home with a 79-71 defeat to Lake Erie College.

After falling behind 42-35 at halftime, the Pioneers cut the deficit down to two at 49-47 six minutes into the second half.  The Storm withstood the Malone rally and moments later went on a 15-4 scoring run of their own to open up a 67-53 advantage with a little less than six minutes to play.

The Pioneers sliced the deficit to 73-65 on a Jaret Majestic three-pointer with three minutes remaining and then made the score 76-70 with under a minute to go on a Nate Sheppard triple.

However, six points was as close as Malone would get as the Storm connected on three of their final four foul shots to cement the victory.

The Pioneers slipped to 15-13 overall and 9-11 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference action following the defeat while Lake Erie improved to 17-11 overall and 12-8 in the conference.

Despite the loss, Malone has qualified for the G-MAC Postseason Tournament for the third consecutive year.  The Pioneers, who will compete as the No. 7 seed in next week's event, will travel to rival Walsh University, the No. 2 seed, for an opening-round contest on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Lake Erie, meanwhile, locked up the tournament's No. 6 seed with Saturday's win.
 
Senior Day

Following the conclusion of Saturday's women's game, the Pioneers' senior basketball players, senior cheerleader and their families were honored, including men's players Ben Evans, Rholy Mouliom and Sheppard.
 
Game Highlights
-The Storm shot over 60% from the field in the second half and ended the game having made 58.2% (32 of 55) of their overall shot attempts, including seven of 16 (43.8%) three-pointers
-Malone countered by making 44.6% of its field goals and 42.9% (nine of 21) of its attempts from beyond the arc
-Both teams struggled at the foul line as the Storm went 8-of-14 at the stripe while Malone made 12 of 22 free throws
-Lake Erie grabbed seven steals on the afternoon and outscored the Pioneers 20-8 in points off turnovers
-The Storm also held 48-30 advantage in points in the paint while Malone enjoyed a 16-11 edge in second-chance points
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Bryce Butler converted on nine of 11 shot attempts and finished the day with a team-high 22 points
-Sheppard drained four three-pointers on his way to 19 points.  He also grabbed seven rebounds and locked up the G-MAC Regular-Season scoring title with 544 points in 28 games for an average of 19.4 per outing
-Daylan Haynie stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, eight assists and seven rebounds
-Jaret Majestic totaled nine points after sinking three triples
-Rholy Mouliom tallied four points off the bench
-Evans hit a three-pointer and handed out two assists
 
Lake Erie Individual Highlights
-Lamont Rhodes totaled 24 points on 11 of 13 shooting.  He also blocked three shots and grabbed six boards
-Gabe Kynard added 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists
-Harrison Riggs tallied 14 points, five boards, four assists and four steals
 
Up Next:
Malone will make the short trip to North Canton to battle rival Walsh on Tuesday in the opening round of the G-MAC Tournament.  The Pioneers and Cavaliers split their two regular-season meetings this year as each team recorded a victory on the other's home court.