CANTON -- The Malone University men's basketball team closed out an early season homestand on Tuesday night by hosting the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Mountain Cats. 

The Pioneers (4-2, 0-0 G-MAC) built up a 52-45 lead at halftime, and then pulled away from the Mountain Cats (4-2, 0-0 PSAC) late in the game to pick up their fourth win in a row by a final score of 102-84. 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Malone's offense was hitting on all cylinders right out of the gate. The Pioneers connected on their first three shots from the field to grab an early 7-0 lead. 

Back-to-back triples from UPJ made it a one possession game, but Malone quickly pushed their advantage out to double-digits before the first media timeout of the contest. 

The Mountain Cats tightened up their play on the defensive end of the floor, and near the midway point of the half found themselves down just two points at 24-22.

The two teams traded offensive scores over the course of the next five minutes, and UPJ actually tied the game at 38-38 on an offensive rebound and put-back. 

A layup by Marcus Ernst was answered by Pitt-Johnstown on the other end, but the Pioneers outscored the Mountain Cats 12-5 down the stretch to create some breathing room heading into halftime.  

Jaret Majestic connected on a three-pointer to put Malone up 49-43. After a stop on the defensive end of the floor Majestic converted a pair of free throws to push the lead out to 51-43. 

UPJ responded with a layup, but then Majestic split a pair of opportunities from the charity stripe to send the Pioneers back to the locker room with a 52-45 lead. 

The Mountain Cats refused to go away early on in the second half, and actually worked the deficit down to just one-possession when a three-pointer made it 62-59 in favor of Malone with 13:48 left to play in the game. 

Malone answered with a quick 9-2 run that was capped off by a pair of free throws from Bryce Butler which put the lead at double-digits. 

UPJ continued to hang tough, but back-to-back three pointers from Majestic and Justin Miller helped Malone start to pull away. Miller's trey made it 85-71 in favor of the Pioneers with just 6:15 left to play in the game. 

Malone's lead never dropped below double-digits the rest of the way, and actually continued to grow. Majestic's eighth three-pointer of the night gave Malone their largest lead of the game at 102-82. 

Ultimately, when the final buzzer sounded, the Pioneers picked up their fourth win in a row by a final score of 102-84.


PIONEER POINTS

• Jaret Majestic led Malone's offense for the second consecutive night. The Malvern, Ohio native poured in a game-high 31 points. He finished 8-12 from three-point territory, and was 7-9 from the free throw line.
• Justin Miller added 23 points off the bench on 8-12 shooting from the field. 
• Marcus Ernst made his first start of the season, and finished with 17 points, and a team-high six rebounds. 
• Bryce Butler rounded out the double-digits scorers for the Pioneers with 18 points.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Pioneers open up Great Midwest Athletic Conference play this weekend. Malone travels to Lake Erie College on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.