CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's basketball team is fresh off their second straight victory with a 101-85 win over Ohio Valley and now play host to Tiffin University on Thursday night. The Malone Pioneers enter play with a 9-6 record overall and an 8-6 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) record. Tiffin is right on the fringe of postseason play at 5-11 overall and in conference.
 
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (9-6, 8-6 G-MAC) vs Tiffin Dragons (5-11, 5-11 G-MAC)
Osborne Hall – Canton, Ohio (8 pm)
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/malone-mens-basketball-vs-tiffin-university-tickets-141695337569
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HARDWOOD SERIES HISTORY:
The Pioneers are 66-25 all-time against the Tiffin Dragons, following a 101-91 road win just last week. Malone will be looking for their fourth consecutive victory against Tiffin, with the Dragons' last win coming in 2016.
 
MALONE PIONEERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
In the team's most recent game at Ohio Valley, the Pioneers broke their highest field goal percentage in a game this season by going 38-for-65 (58.5%) from the field in the 101-85 win. Marcus Ernst, Bryce Butler and Bo Myers each scored 21 points to drive the offensive attack for Malone. In the win, Marcus Ernst entered the top 10 on Malone's career rebounding list by collecting his 747th board.
 
The Pioneers as a team went for 70 points in the paint in the earlier season matchup with Tiffin. That is the most paint points scored by the men's basketball team in the NCAA DII era. Malone worked to get the ball inside to Marcus Ernst, who went for a team-high 27 points and went 13-for-17 from the field.
 
Over the last four games, Bryce Butler has scored an average of 23.3 points per game and shot 61.5% (32-for-52) from the field. His most recent game was his second-highest field goal percentage game of the season at 69.2% (9-for-13). Butler has worked to get to the charity stripe at a high volume. He leads the team in free throw makes (57) and attempts (75).
 
Jaret Majestic was in-sync from three against Ohio Valley with five bombs from beyond the arc. He has shot at or above 50% from deep in his last three games. Majestic is the team leader in steals with 18 on the year.
 
Donovan O'Neil saw his first playing time as a Pioneer in Tuesday's win.
 
TIFFIN DRAGONS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
After winning two straight versus Trevecca Nazarene and Cedarville, the Dragons have now dropped three in a row to Malone, Trevecca and Lake Erie. On Wednesday afternoon, Tiffin lost to the Lake Erie Storm 77-72 and are on the tail end of a back-to-back.
 
Trent Williams was the main offensive focus for the Dragons against Lake Erie, scoring a team-high 21 points on 7-of-21 from the field. He also pulled down six rebounds and dished out four assists in the contest.
 
Tiffin is an up-tempo team that loves to score the basketball. The Dragons average 73.8 points per game, but allow the second-highest number of points per game to opponents at 79.8. They will have their hands full trying to defend the highest-scoring offense in the G-MAC in the Malone Pioneers.
 
In the first matchup, Wesley Jordan put up 23 points and secured seven boards, both team highs. Jordan is the team's highest scorer on the active roster at 12.0 points per game and brings in 5.2 rebounds per contest.
 
Thomas Hickman and Tanner Johnson have each started 11 games this season and will likely be in the starting rotation next to Jordan and Williams. Freshman guard Kole Hornbuckle was the team's fifth starter at Lake Erie.