The Malone University men's basketball team's 2018-19 season came to a close on Tuesday night with a 76-68 loss at Walsh University in the opening round of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Pioneers, seeded seventh in the G-MAC Postseason, conclude the year with a 15-14 overall record.  Walsh, the tournament's No. 2 seed, will now advance to the G-MAC Semifinals after recording their 11th straight victory.
 
Game Recap
The Pioneers fell behind 22-6 eight minutes into the game and, despite fighting hard the entire night, were never able to fully recover.

 Malone outscored the Cavaliers 19-7 over the next eight minutes to cut the deficit down to four at 29-25.  Walsh responded with an 11-0 surge to push its lead back to double-digits and then took a 40-30 advantage into the locker room at intermission.

A quick 8-0 Malone run near the start of the second half – fueled by three-pointers from Jaret Majestic and Bryce Butler and a lay up from Daylan Haynie - pulled the Pioneers to within six at 46-40.
However, Walsh would score 14 of the game's next 16 points to stretch its lead back out to 60-42 near the midway point of the final period.

The Cavaliers' advantage would swell to 71-48 with a little over four minutes to play but Malone refused to go away quietly.  Over a roughly three-minute span, the Pioneers registered five steals and hit four three-pointers, using a 16-1 run to trim the Walsh lead down to 72-64 with under a minute to play.

Despite the hard-fought Malone rally, Walsh managed to hit four of its final six free throws to secure the win and advance to Friday's semifinal round.
 
Game Highlights
-The Pioneers hit 10 of 21 (47.6%) three-pointers on the night but did not fare as well inside the arc, ending the game having made 41.2% (28 of 68) of their overall shot attempts
-The Cavaliers shot 51.9% over the course of the evening and knocked down eight of 24 (33.3%) three-pointers
-Walsh was awarded 19 free throws on the night, making 12.  Malone, meanwhile, attempted only three foul shots, making two
-The Pioneers totaled nine steals, forced 19 Cavalier turnovers and held a 27-3 edge in points off turnovers
-The Cavaliers held a commanding 45-26 edge in total rebounds and outscored Malone 21-9 in second-chance points
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Much like in Malone's first game at Walsh's Alumni Arena this season, Majestic put on an impressive shooting display.  The sophomore hit six of 10 three-pointers on his way to a team-high 22 points.  He also grabbed three steals
-Guard Nate Sheppard followed with 12 points.  The senior ends his outstanding Pioneer career ranked 12th on Malone's all-time scoring list with 1,717 points
-Haynie posted 11 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals
-Butler totaled 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds
-Marcus Ernst contributed 10 points
 
Walsh Individual Highlights
-Guard Darryl Straughter drained six of nine three-pointers, ending the night with a game-high 24 points
-Sterling Christy was a force inside, posting 15 points and 20 rebounds
-JT Shumate posted 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks