The Malone University men's basketball team will travel to northwest Ohio and up to Michigan this weekend for a double dose of Great Midwest Athletic Conference action this weekend. First, Malone plays at Findlay in their only regular season matchup of the season on Thursday, January 30 at 7:30 pm. On Saturday, February 1, the Pioneers seek to avenge last weekend's loss to Hillsdale with a rematch in Hillsdale, Michigan at 3 pm.
 
Follow Along:
Malone @ Findlay
Thursday, January 30 at 7:30 pm
Live Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/findlay/
Live Stats: http://athletics.findlay.edu/sports/mbkb/2019-20/boxscores/20200130_r3vz.xml
 
Malone @ Hillsdale
Saturday, February 1 at 3 pm
Live Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/hillsdale/
Live Stats: https://www.hillsdalechargers.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/boxscores/20200201_f9nh.xml
 
Previous Matchups:
Malone men's basketball is 16-37 all-time against the Oilers of the University of Findlay. Last season, the Pioneers gave nationally-ranked Findlay a run for their money on the road with a close 81-75 loss. The most recent win for Malone came two years ago, when the Pioneers defeated NCAA DII #11 Findlay 82-71. Ty Jordan had 26 points in the win and exploded for a career-high 41 points in a loss earlier in the year.
 
Hillsdale defeated Malone 81-60 in a game exactly one week prior to their second meeting. Austen Yarian led the way for the Chargers with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Jaret Majestic scored a team-high 20 points in defeat.
 
Malone Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 11-8 (5-4 G-MAC)
 
Malone has already had experience playing in Potter Arena, as the Pioneers faced Oakland City and Southern Indiana in the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament at the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Malone has a winning record at 5-4 in games away from Osborne Hall this season. After going 5-1 in the month of December, the Pioneers look to stay above .500 in January as the calender turns.
 
This weekend, it will be a battle of some of the G-MAC's top point guards. Daylan Haynie is averaging 4.1 assists per game and has 12 total assists in the team's previous two games. Haynie sees the floor for the fourth-most minutes in the conference (over 33 minutes per game). In four of the last five games, he has played more than 32 minutes.
 
Hillsdale really focused defensively on not giving sharpshooter Jaret Majestic any space. The Pioneers will look to free him up for shots or allow him to create using the dribble more this time around. Even with defense hounding him for all 33 minutes he was on the floor, Majestic still finished with 20 points. In the last six games, he has made 30 three-point shots.
 
Marcus Ernst has led Malone in rebounding in six of the last seven games. Ernst has pulled down 177 total rebounds on the season, only five rebounds away from the conference lead. In true road contests, Ernst is averaging 16.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
 
The other big man, Sehill Mouliom, as well as fifth starter Eli Ramsey, have also shined in away games this season. Mouliom averages 12.1 points and pulls down 6.4 boards per road game. In the last five games, Mouliom is averaging 12.2 points per contest. Ramsey has had the two highest scoring nights of his career in games away from Osborne Hall (Ohio Dominican, Oakland City).
 
The Pioneers scored 15 bench points versus Hillsdale, all by Bo Myers and Tracey Sumner. Myers reached double digits for the third consecutive game with 10 points against the Chargers on 3-of-7 shooting. Sumner netted a career-high five points, including a tough contested lay-up and a long-range three.
 
Findlay Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 12-6 (7-2 G-MAC)
 
The Oilers dropped their last game against Walsh 81-72, but have won 11 of their previous 13 games. In G-MAC play this season, Findlay has held teams to just 66.7 points per game. They lead the G-MAC in steals with 9.1 per game.
 
In all of NCAA Division II, Findlay sits 10th in field goal percentage, netting just over half of their shots at 50.9%. As a team, they distribute the basketball at a high rate, recording a league-high 18.5 assists per contest.
 
The Oilers are led at the point guard position by Tommy Schmock. Schmock leads the league in assists (6.9 per game), steals (3.1 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.38). The junior leads Findlay in scoring with 11.3 points per game as well.
 
Anthony Masterlasco (10.9), Aaron Overhiser (10.7), Nathan Bruns (10.5), and Ethan Linder (10.4) round out the starting five for Findlay and join Schmock as double-digit scorers. Four of the five starters also shoot above 50% from the field.
 
Overhiser leads the team with 6.0 rebounds per game, followed closely behind by freshman Bruns at 5.2 boards per game. Masterlasco has scored in double figured in six of his last seven games for the Oilers. Linder has back-to-back games of 17 and a career-high 18 points.
 
11 Findlay players see time in the rotation on the usual gameday.
 
Hillsdale Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 12-7 (8-2 G-MAC)
 
Hillsdale enters play on Saturday hot off an 81-60 win over the Pioneers on their home floor and come home looking for the season sweep. The Chargers will be hosting Autism Speaks Day for both the men's and women's games.
 
In their 10 conference games, Hillsdale has outscored opponents by an average of 10.6 points per game. The Chargers wrap up their month of January with a 5-2 record and are 6-2 at home on the year.
 
Austen Yarian used his inside-out game to give the Pioneers fits in the first of two games this season. Yarian shot 8-of-12 from the field and buried five shots from long range from the center position.
 
Yarian was joined by Patrick Cartier (18), Dylan Lowry (18) and Connor Hill (11) as double-digit scorers in the first stanza. Cartier added five rebounds and three steals in last Saturday's game. He is the team's leader in points per game (14.7) and shoots a conference-best 65.1% from the field. Lowry connected on seven field goals last weekend, the second-most in a game this season. Hill is second in the conference behind Findlay's Tommy Schmock is assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4).
 
Davis Larson rounds out the starting rotation for the Chargers. Larson has shot over 50% from the field in each of the last four games. He is fourth in the conference behind teammate and leader Cartier with a 53.4% shooting percentage.
 
Nine players have appeared in at least 18 of the team's 19 games this season.