CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's basketball team lost a close game on Thursday night 75-69 against the NCAA DII 11th ranked Hillsdale Chargers. It was a battle all night long as no team had more than a 10-point advantage throughout the contest.
 
Hillsdale extends their winning streak to 11 and snaps Malone's five game run without a loss. The Chargers are now 14-1 overall and in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). After winning five in a row, the loss brings the Pioneers down to 7-6 overall and 6-6 in the G-MAC.
 
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED:
Hillsdale started the game with four consecutive makes and led 13-6 after the first five minutes of play. Baskets from all of the starting five for the Pioneers allowed them to slowly chip away at the deficit. Jaret Majestic went on a five-point run by himself with a three and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 17 with 12:18 to go in the first.
 
Hillsdale responded with a seven point swing of their own led by the conference's leading scorer, Patrick Cartier. Not to be outdone, Malone reeled off eight straight. Bo Myers knocked down a pair of free throws, followed by a dunk from Marcus Ernst. Jump shots from Justin Miller and Myers gave the Pioneers a slight lead at 25-24.
 
After a Bryce Butler three tied the game at 30 with 2:53 to play in the period, Hillsdale went on an 8-0 run to close the half and gave the Chargers all the momentum heading into the break, 38-30. Austin Yarien was the lone player in double figures with 11 first half points. Hillsdale dominated the paint in the first, outscoring Malone 26-14 inside.
 
After scoring just four points in the first, Patrick Cartier and the Chargers made it a point of emphasis to get him to the charity stripe early and often in the second. His efforts put Hillsdale up 10 a few minutes into the period, but Bo Myers and Marcus Ernst were the answers for Malone.
 
The Pioneers worked to isolate the guard Myers on the wing and Ernst inside and the Pioneer offense started clicking after shooting just 33% in the opening frame.
 
Justin Miller stepped to the free throw line to knock down a pair and get the game back to even at 48 apiece with 9:22 to go. Just as earlier in the game, right when Malone had momentum, the Chargers snatched it right back with a quick 9-2 spurt to make it 57-50 with under seven minutes to play.
 
Down five, Bo Myers hit a huge three with five minutes left that made it 59-57 and the Pioneers felt the game swing back in their favor. Six straight from Hillsdale shut that down once again.
 
Bryce Butler nailed a deep three-point field goal that made it a 67-65 ballgame with 1:45 to play. On the other end of the floor, Connor Hill, who had a game-high 21 points for the Chargers, buried a contested baseline jumper with the shot clock winding down that was a huge blow to the Pioneer energy. Even though Malone hung tough, Hillsdale was perfect from the free throw line down the stretch on their way to securing a 75-69 win.
 
Connor Hill led the way for the Chargers with 21 points and six assists on 8-of-11 from the field. Bo Myers, Malone's leading scorer, contributed the most offensively for the Pioneers with 18.
 
PIONEER POINTS:

• The stingy Hillsdale defense allowed the Pioneers to shoot just 39.1% from the field at 25-for-64. Defensively, Malone defended the perimeter the best in any game in the 2020-21 season, holding the Chargers to shoot 3-for-17 (17.6%) from beyond the arc.
• Malone crashed the glass hard, and outrebounded Hillsdale 36-30. The Pioneers pulled down 13 offensive rebounds.
• Bo Myers played 37 minutes and scored a team-high 18 points while pulling down six rebounds.
• Marcus Ernst scored 15 points and ripped 15 boards out of the sky, including six on the offensive end. 15 rebounds ties his season-high and ties Mitchell Spotleson on the career rebounding list at spot number 12 all-time.
• Justin Miller sank all seven free throws on his way to 13 points. The Pioneers as a team were 13-for-15 from the charity stripe. Miller also accumulated seven rebounds and dished out a team-best five assists.

 
UP NEXT:
The road does not get any easier for Malone as the NCAA DII #12 team in the nation, the University of Findlay, comes to Osborne Hall. It is senior day for the Pioneers. Tip-off for the women's game is at 1 pm and the men's game shortly after at 3 pm. Senior day festivities will take place in between games.