Malone University graduate Ben Evans, a four-year member of the Pioneer men's basketball team, has signed a professional contract to play for the Depiro Basketball Club in Malta, a European island nation off the southern coast of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. Depiro competes in the Maltese 1st Division with a schedule that runs from November through early April.


 
Evans, a 6'10" forward from Delaware, Ohio, who is coming off of a breakout senior season with the Pioneers, will report to the team in September. Evans averaged a career-high 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds across 28 games this past winter. He also handed out 35 assists and blocked 19 shots while shooting 45.3% from the field.
 
In addition to being a proficient passer and finisher near the basket, Evans was one of the best three-point shooting big men in the country, making 51 three-pointers while shooting 40.2% from beyond the arc. For most of his senior season, only one player in NCAA Division II 6'9" or taller had more three-pointers than Evans, whose skillset should fit in well with the European style of play.
 
"We're extremely happy for Ben to get an opportunity like this," expressed Malone head coach Casey Kaufman. "The development he has shown over the course of the four years he was here is a great example of how hard work pays off over time."
 
Evans is the third Pioneer in the last four seasons to ink a professional contract. He joins former standouts Brian Stone (Portugal) and Ty Jordan (Spain), who have both played overseas in recent years.