CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's basketball team enters play on Thursday fresh off a week of preparation after their win against Ohio Valley last week. The Pioneers welcome Kentucky Wesleyan to Osborne Hall for an 8 pm tip-off, immediately following the women's basketball game.
 
HARDWOOD SERIES HISTORY:
This will be the second meeting between the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers and Malone Pioneers in the 2020-21 season. The Panthers claimed victory in the first matchup in Owensboro, Kentucky 82-71. Tre Cobbs went for a career-high 30 points in the contest, while the Pioneers were led by Bryce Butler with 18 points and five assists.
 
With the loss a few weeks ago, Malone falls to 2-8 all-time versus Kentucky Wesleyan in men's basketball. The Panthers have won five consecutive meetings, with the last Pioneer win coming in February 2018.
 
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (2-4, 1-4 G-MAC) vs Kentucky Wesleyan (5-4, 4-4 G-MAC)
Osborne Hall – Canton, Ohio
Live Stats/Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/malone-basketball-vs-kentucky-wesleyan-college-tickets-137854712155
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MALONE PIONEERS NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
The best defensive performance of the year for the Pioneers led them to a 100-67 victory over Ohio Valley in their most recent game. Malone held the opposition to 30.8% from the field overall, including just 25.0% in the first half. Limiting shots from long range has been a strength thus for the Pioneers. On the national level, they are 34th in three-point field goal percentage defense at 30.1%, and sixth in the Midwest Region.
 
The stellar defense has turned into offense for Malone. The Pioneers score 77.8 points per game in 2020-21, the third best in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), and have dropped more than 90 points in consecutive games.
 
Going into Thursday's games, Bo Myers is the conference's third leading scorer at 17.3 points per game. Myers led the team in scoring in their season opener at Trevecca Nazarene and in their most recent game versus Ohio Valley.
 
Bryce Butler (15.7 PPG) and Marcus Ernst (15.5 PPG) also find themselves in the top 10 in conference scoring at ninth and tenth. The Pioneers are the only team with three players in the top 10 on the G-MAC individual scoring list.
 
With his six three-point makes on Wednesday, Jaret Majestic upped his three-point field goal percentage to 43.6%, third in the G-MAC. Majestic has made at least one shot from long range in all six games in the season.
 
At the four spot, Levi Seiler and Justin Miller have crashed the boards hard in recent games. Miller tied his career-high by pulling down 10 rebounds against Ohio Valley and Seiler topped his Pioneer best with six rebounds in the 100-67 win.
 
KENTUCKY WESLEYAN PANTHERS NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
The Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers are coming off a pair of single-digit losses to ranked Findlay and Hillsdale last weekend at home. Hillsdale prevailed over Kentucky Wesleyan 66-63 in their most recent game, with the Chargers needing to hit free throws late to secure the victory. It was a close game throughout, as neither team led by more than eight points.
 
Thursday's game will be a battle between the efficient offense of the Pioneers and the stifling defense of the Panthers. Kentucky Wesleyan holds teams to just 63.4 points per game, the third best in the G-MAC. Their biggest strength defensively is limiting three-point shooting opportunities. The Panthers boast a conference-best 26.2% three-point field goal percentage defense, a number that is sixth lowest in the nation. They held Malone to 7-for-26 from deep in the first meeting.
 
Tre Cobbs is the team's leading scorer at 16.6 points per game. Cobbs lit up the Pioneers from the floor earlier this month, going 13-for-18 overall on his way to a 30 point game. The transfer from NCAA DI Northern Kentucky has scored in double figures in all nine games in the 2020-21 season.

Zach Hopewell (12.4 PPG) and Wyatt Battaile (10.3 PPG) are also double-digit scorers for the Panthers. Hopewell has played 33 minutes or more in seven of the team's nine games this season and Battaile is the squad's leading rebounder at 7.1 boards per game. These two, along with Sasha Sukhanov, have started all nine games for Kentucky Wesleyan.
 
Nine different players have made a start for the Panthers in 2020-21, including Jamil Wilson, Jo Griffin, Ben Sisson, DeJuan Lockett, and Tarik Dixon, who made his first start of the season in Kentucky Wesleyan's most recent game.