CANTON, Ohio – In a newly scheduled non-conference game, the Malone men's basketball team will have their home opener earlier than anticipated with a game at Osborne Hall against Clarion University. Clarion, a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), has yet to begin their season after a conference-wide mandate to delay athletics until the start of 2021.
 
HARDWOOD SERIES HISTORY:
Although the Pioneers are only 4-10 versus the Golden Eagles of Clarion all-time, the last two meetings in the 2018-19 and 19-20 seasons went Malone's way. Last season, the Pioneers traveled to Clarion and brought home a 66-54 win. Before restarting the series between the teams in 2018-19, they had not met since the 1977-78 season, when Clarion won 98-78.
 
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (0-4, 0-4 G-MAC) vs Clarion Golden Eagles (0-0, 0-0 PSAC)
Osborne Hall – Canton, Ohio
Live Stats/Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
MALONE PIONEERS NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
The Pioneers have not reached the win column yet, but they have come as close as you possibly can to doing so in their four games. Malone has had the lead in the second half of every game thus far and in three of the four games, the lead has changed hands at least eight times.
 
In non-conference competition last season, the Pioneers were 6-4 overall. Defensively, Malone held opponents to 70.7 points per game in those 10 non-conference games. The Pioneers limited Clarion to the second-lowest field goal percentage among non-conference opponents last season at 31.1%.
 
Marcus Ernst is coming off a week of play where he won Malone Athlete of the Week. He averaged 18.3 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game and shot 61% from the field (25-of-41). His week included two double-doubles with points and rebounds and a career-high 29-point game against the sixth-ranked team in NCAA DII, the University of Findlay.
 
Bryce Butler was the high scorer for Malone in their most recent game at Hillsdale. He netted 24 points and was 10-for-13 from the field overall. He is averaging 15.5 points per game through four games this year.
 
Joining Ernst and Butler as the leading scorers for the Pioneers is Bo Myers. Myers is averaging 16.8 points per game and is the only Malone men's basketball player to reach double figures in all four games.
 
Jaret Majestic is off-pace in his scoring this season, but this game is an opportunity for him to thrive. Majestic led the Pioneers with 18 points in last year's game at Clarion and knocked down four shots from long range.
 
CLARION GOLDEN EAGLES NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | 2019-20 Statistics
 
Clarion was 5-23 last season and averaged 63.3 points per game. The team's top two scorers from last season, Stevan Rodriguez and Elijah Cottrill, do not return to this year's squad.
 
Kaison Branch started in all 28 games a season ago and is the top returning scorer at 9.8 points per game. Branch was the game's high scorer in last year's matchup with Malone with 19 points.
 
Another starter that returns from last year's squad is Aaron Hilzendeger. Hilzendeger is a 6'5 sophomore that loves to shoot the three. He had the most three-point attempts on last year's team at 145.
 
The Golden Eagles are a young group, with eight of their 12 players in their freshman or sophomore seasons. It will be interesting to see how the freshmen come out in their first collegiate game and how the upperclassmen have developed since the last time the teams met.