CANTON -- The Malone University men's basketball team closed out a weekend of Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play on Saturday afternoon by hosting the Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers. 

The Pioneers (7-2, 3-0 G-MAC) built up an eighteen-point lead by halftime, and then held off the Panthers (5-5, 1-3 G-MAC) in the second half to secure the 78-66 win. 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The game was back-and-forth early on with both teams trading scores over the first several possessions. The Pioneers started to settle in after the first media timeout however, especially on the defensive end. 

Kentucky Wesleyan trailed Malone 10-8 at the first stoppage of play. The Panthers, who were limited to 9-26 shooting in the first half, scored just thirteen total points over the rest of the half. 

Meanwhile Malone's offense started to get things going.

KWC turned the ball over coming out of that first media timeout, and Jaret Majestic buried a three-pointer on the other end to put the Pioneers up 13-8. 

Malone continued to limit the Panthers' chances offensively, and Justin Miller's basket with 9:15 to play in the half gave MU their first double-digit lead of the game at 23-12. 

Just a few minutes later Malone controlled a loose ball off of a missed KWC jumpshot. Justin Miller ignited a fastbreak opportunity with his outlet pass to Levi Seiler. Seiler then found Marcus Ernst streaking down the lane and lobbed an alley oop pass. Ernst hammered the slamdunk opportunity home which sent the Osborne Hall crowd into a frenzy, and gave Malone a 33-17 lead with 5:15 left to play in the half. 

That play capped off an 8-2 run for the Pioneers, and forced the Panthers to burn a timeout. 

Back-to-back Kentucky Wesleyan baskets made it a twelve-point game, but MU scored the final six points of the half to carry a 39-21 advantage into halftime. 

The Panthers did just enough early on in the second-half to hang around, but Malone's lead never slipped below double-digits. 

KWC got to within ten points at 47-37, but the Pioneers answered with a run that started to put the game away. 

Six straight points from Malone pushed the lead back out to sixteen points, and then Eli Ramsey answered a Panther basket with a three-pointer on the other end to give the Pioneers a 56-39 lead. 

The advantage grew to as many as nineteen points on another Majestic three-pointer, and Malone was able to hold off a pesky comeback attempt from the Panthers down the stretch to pick up the 78-66 win.

PIONEER POINTS

• Levi Seiler was a catalyst for Malone offensively early on. He finished with a game-high 19 points.
• Justin Miller added 16 points, he also led the defensive efforts for the Pioneers as he came away with a team-high four steals.
• Bryce Butler scored 16 points, and dished out four assists.
• Marcus Ernst came up just a pair of rebounds shy of a double-double. He rounded out the double-digit scorers for Malone with 12 points, and finished with eight rebounds. 
• Today's win snapped what had been a six-game losing streak for Malone in the overall series against Kentucky Wesleyan. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Pioneers will host crosstown rival Walsh University on Tuesday, December 14. Tip-off from Osborne Hall is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.