The Malone University men's basketball team looks to bounce back after suffering their first three-game skid of the season. This week, the Pioneers will face the Ohio Valley Fighting Scots at home on Thursday night, February 6 at 8 pm, followed by a Saturday night game versus the Alderson Broaddus Battlers at 8 pm. The Saturday, February 8, men's and women's games versus Alderson Broaddus have been moved to West Virginia Wesleyan College and will be considered home games for the Battlers.
 
For the home game Thursday night, the Malone men's basketball team and Malone SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) will be doing a t-shirt toss 20 minutes prior to tip-off. At halftime, there will be an opportunity to win a free Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich!
 
Follow Along:
Malone vs Ohio Valley
Thursday, February 6 at 8 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
Malone @ Alderson Broaddus
*Being played at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV  
Saturday, February 8 at 8 pm
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
Previous Games:
The Pioneers pulled off a come-from-behind victory against Ohio Valley in game one of the two-game series 80-77. Malone sunk 28-of-29 free throws and went on a 12-2 run to end the game over the final two minutes to seal the win.
 
In a game moved to Osborne Hall, Malone defeated Alderson Broaddus 93-58. Jaret Majestic tied the school and conference record for the most three-point makes in a game, going 10-for-14 from long range in the contest.
 
Malone Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 11-10 (5-6 G-MAC)
 
Malone is 5-1 all-time versus Ohio Valley and are 6-4 at home this season. The Pioneers are 3-0 against Ohio Valley in Osborne Hall, averaging victory by over 15 points per game. Since joining the G-MAC, Malone is 10-4 at home in the month of February as postseason play looms near.
 
In the state of West Virginia this season, Malone is only 1-2, but will look to get back to .500 with a win against Alderson Broaddus on Saturday. The trip to West Virginia Wesleyan College to face the Battlers will be the longest one-day trip of the 2019-20 season for the Pioneers.
 
Combined against both teams, Malone shot 48% (24-of-50) from behind the three-point line. Along with a sensational Jaret Majestic performance versus Alderson Broaddus where he sunk 10 three's, Bo Myers was a combined 9-of-15 from long range in both prior matchups.
 
In Malone's last game at Hillsdale, Marcus Ernst led the Pioneers with 19 points and seven rebounds. Over the last two contests, Ernst has scored 18 and 19 points, along with grabbing eight and seven boards in the games. Ernst is fourth in the conference in made field goals with 130 on the season.
 
Joining Ernst as double-figure scorers for the Pioneers are Jaret Majestic, who leads the team with 17.1 points per game, Sehill Mouliom, who scored 17 points in Saturday's loss and is averaging 12.0 points per contest, and Bo Myers, scoring 11.3 points per game off the bench. Myers netted 22 points in the team's first game versus Alderson Broaddus this season.
 
Eli Ramsey is shooting 47% on the season, and had an all-around performance against Alderson Broaddus in the first go-around with five points, five rebounds and five assists.
 
Ohio Valley Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 4-17 (1-10 G-MAC)
 
Ohio Valley will travel to Canton, Ohio on Thursday on a five-game losing spell. The Fighting Scots are 3-10 in games away from home.
 
Overall in the conference, Ohio Valley scores 72.0 points per game, but allows a league-worst 85.2 points per contest. The biggest key to success for the Fighting Scots is their work on the boards. Ohio Valley averages 38.4 total rebounds and 11.0 offensive rebounds (second-best in the G-MAC) in a game. The Fighting Scots use their size well defensively and has the second-most blocked shots in the conference at 81.
 
Since playing the Pioneers on January 16, Parker Black has led the Fighting Scots in scoring in three of the four games played since. Black is averaging 11.1 points per game this season, but in the last four games is blazing the nets at 16.5 points. Black is doing everything well over this stretch, averaging 6.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
 
Dylan Harrison and Keon Claiborne were scoring leaders in the first game versus the Pioneers and have been heavy contributors to the Ohio Valley offense since. Overall this season, Harrison has driven the Fighting Scots at 17.1 points per game, with Claiborne following closely behind at 15.3 points per game.
 
Ohio Valley has mixed up their starting line-up based on matchups, but have started either Ognjen Vasiljevic, David Adeyemo or Vukasin Garic in the final two spots most of the time. Vasiljevic shoots 41.9% from beyond the arc this season. Adeyemo still holds the conference lead in blocks with 36 this season. Garic is shooting 40% from the field overall.
 
Alderson Broaddus Team Notes: Schedule | Roster | Statistics
Record: 7-14 (5-7 G-MAC)
 
Alderson Broaddus will play at Walsh University on Thursday night before they host the Pioneers at West Virginia Wesleyan College on Saturday night. It will be the first game played at West Virginia Wesleyan for the Battlers this season since announcing construction on Rex Pyles Arena last month.
 
Six of the team's seven wins on the season have come outside of Philippi, West Virginia. From long range, Alderson Broaddus shoots 36.4%, good for third in the conference. Defensively, the Battlers allow opponents to shoot a conference-high 38.7% from three-point land.
 
KJ Walker (42.9%) and David Shriver (38.2%) are both in the top 10 in the G-MAC in three-point field goal percentage. Walker averages 14.5 points per game and a team-high 4.3 assists per contest. Shriver takes the most three-point shots on the Battler squad and averages 11.9 points per game.
 
Malik Bocook is the team's focal point, averaging 17.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. In his seven career games against Malone, Bocook averages a double-double at 12.4 points and 10.7 boards per contest.
 
There are two more double-digit scorers on the Alderson Broaddus roster in Troy Cantrell (12.5 PPG) and Bruce Spruell (10.4 PPG). It is the second team the Pioneers will face this season to have all five starters averaging double figures.