CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's basketball team hosts the #12 ranked team in NCAA DII, the University of Findlay Oilers. Saturday's game also marks Senior Day for four men's basketball athletes: Marcus Ernst, Jaret Majestic, Bryce Butler and Brian Read, along with senior team manager, Nate Koesel.
 
HARDWOOD SERIES HISTORY:
The Pioneers are 16-39 all-time against Findlay. The Oilers won the first meeting of the season 80-77 when Findlay was ranked 6th in NCAA DII. The last win for Malone came in 2018 when the Pioneers upended the Oilers at home 82-71.  
 
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (7-6, 6-6 G-MAC) vs #12 Findlay Oilers (13-3, 12-3 G-MAC)
Osborne Hall – Canton, OH (3 pm)
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/malone-basketball-vs-university-of-findlay-tickets-139476565161
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MALONE PIONEERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Malone dropped their most recent game in a dogfight against ranked Hillsdale two nights ago. The game against Findlay closes out a stretch of six games in their last 10 days due to COVID-19 rescheduling. Before Thursday's game, the Pioneers were winners of five straight. A win on Saturday would do wonders for Malone's chances at hosting a postseason game in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament. Malone will recognize seniors before tip-off on Saturday.
 
Marcus Ernst is a senior forward from Ashtabula, Ohio and Edgewood High School. Ernst has been an ironman for the Pioneers in his four seasons. He has played in all 101 games he has been on the roster for and has made 71 starts. Last season, Ernst was named Second Team All-Conference and ranked second in the G-MAC in rebounding. Ernst has scored 954 points in his career, shooting an impressive 53.7% from the field at 400-for-745. With his 15 rebound performance versus Hillsdale, Ernst tied Mitchell Spotleson for 12th on the all-time rebounding list at 731 career rebounds. 215 of those have been on the offensive end of the floor. Ernst has also accumulated 164 assists, 80 steals and 67 blocked shots.
 
Jaret Majestic is a senior guard from Malvern, Ohio and Malvern High School. Majestic eclipsed the 1,000 point mark earlier this season against Cedarville. He currently sits 51st on Malone's all-time scoring list with 1,035 points. Last season, Majestic broke the record for free throw percentage in a season at 92.5% (74-for-80) and against Alderson Broaddus, Majestic tied the school record for most three-point makes in a game with 10. Majestic was also named First Team All-Conference in 2019-20. In total, Majestic has made 244 shots from beyond the arc as a Pioneer. For his career thus far, Majestic has 249 rebounds, 137 assists, 64 steals and 10 blocked shots.
 
Bryce Butler is a redshirt senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, Clark Montessori High School and Alderson Broaddus University. Butler has scored 736 points in his time in a Malone uniform, placing him 71st in Malone history in his three seasons. This season, Butler is averaging 17.2 points per game, the highest in a season as a Pioneer, and scored his career-high 27 points at Tiffin earlier this week. Butler has secured 199 rebounds, dished out 160 assists, recorded 45 steals and blocked 2 shots in his career.
 
Brian Read is from Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Collins High School, and a graduate transfer from Western Colorado University. Read scored a career-high four points in the Pioneers 92-74 win over Clarion University. In his 11 games, Read has scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, 9 coming on the offensive end of the floor. Read is shooting 46.7% from the field and has dished out 9 assists this season.
 
#12 FINDLAY OILERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Findlay bounced back after a pair of G-MAC losses with a 30-point victory over Walsh University on Thursday 93-63. The Oilers were 14-for-29 from behind the three-point line and Tommy Schmock had a team-high 24 points on six made three's.
 
Saturday's game will be the battle of the new top two scoring offenses in the G-MAC. Both teams average 80.4 points per game. Findlay also boasts a stout defense, allowing only 67.6 points to opponents and they have the league's highest scoring margin at 12.8.
 
Just like Hillsdale, Findlay is also very efficient from the field. The Oilers shoot 48.4% from the field as a team. Findlay distributes the basketball at a high rate as well. The Oilers have the third most assists in the country at 272 and have the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.69.
 
Senior point guard Tommy Schmock makes the Oiler offense tick. Schmock is fifth in NCAA DII in assists with 88 and is the conference's leading assist man, averaging 5.5 per game. Schmock (13.8 PPG) and Nathan Bruns (13.6 PPG) are the team's two leading scorers.
 
Anthony Masterlasco and Tre'Maine Gray bring experience to the starting line-up as seniors. Masterlasco scores 12.1 points per game and Gray is one of the conference's best defenders. They are joined by freshman Andrew Owens in the starting rotation. The Oilers have a deep rotation, with nine players getting 10 or minutes per game.