CANTON -- The Malone University men's basketball team was back in action on Saturday night for a non-conference game against the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. 

Malone used a big run late in the first half to carry a 51-33 lead into the break. The Pioneers (3-2, 0-0 G-MAC) then outscored the Bobcats (1-6, 0-0 AMCC) by a dozen points in the second half to pick up the 101-71 win.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Pioneers, helped by two early three-pointers from Justin Miller, opened up a quick six-point lead at 11-5 less than three minutes into the game

The visiting Bobcats weathered the early storm however, and actually fought back to take 20-18 advantage with just over twelve minutes remaining in the first half. 

The go-ahead basket was part of a 9-0 run from UPG that eventually saw the Bobcats grab a six-point lead of their own. 

Bryce Butler ended Malone's scoring drought with back-to-back layups, and then Bo Myers tied the game at 26-26 with a bucket inside the paint. 

Miller broke the tie with a thunderous dunk off the Jaret Majestic assist, and the Pioneers never trailed again. 

All told it was eleven unanswered points from Malone that helped give the Pioneers the advantage.

With MU up 38-29 inside the final four minutes of the half Jaret Majestic caught fire from beyond the three-point line. The lefty hit triples on three consecutive possessions. The final one gave Malone a 47-33 lead. 

Marcus Ernst, who was playing in his first game of the season, made a layup, and Eli Ramsey closed out the opening half scoring with a pair of free throws to send the teams back to the locker room with the Pioneers on top 51-33.

Myers opened up the second-half with a layup to put Malone up 53-33, and the Pioneers never led by less than fifteen points the rest of the game. 

The Bobcats got as close as 55-40 on a three-pointer with 17:57 left to play, but Malone began to easily pull away. 

Three free throws by Majestic gave the Pioneers their first thirty point lead of the night at 74-44 with 14:15 remaining. 

After a stop on the defensive end, Eli Ramsey split a pair of free throws to give Malone their largest lead of the night. 

The Bobcats kept pace with Malone for the rest of the game in terms of scoring, but UPG's defensive struggles never allowed them to mount a threatening comeback attempt. 

A late three-pointer from Zach Geiser pushed the Pioneers across the century mark for the second consecutive game, and ultimately put the finishing touches on the 101-71 win.

PIONEER POINTS

• Jaret Majestic finished 7-14 from the field, and 6-12 from beyond the three-point line, to lead all scorers with 25 points. The lefty has now scored double-digit points in four of the five games this season.
• Bryce Butler scored 19 points, and is now second on the team averaging 17.7 points per game. 
• As a team, Malone pulled down 41 rebounds to just 26 for the Bobcats. Levi Seiler and Marcus Ernst each pulled down seven boards to help lead the Pioneers. 
• Led by four steals from Butler, Malone forced UPG into 15 turnovers. The Pioneers turned those extra opportunities into 20 points on the other end of the floor.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Malone's upcoming schedule has been adjusted due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bluefield State University program. 

The Pioneers next game will now be Tuesday at home against the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Tip off from Osborne Hall is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.