CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's basketball team makes the 4.4 mile journey up Market Avenue to rival Walsh University on Saturday to take on the Cavaliers for the first time in the 2020-21 season. The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) opponents have both hit their strides mid-season and it looks to be an intense atmosphere at the Cecchini Center.
HARDWOOD SERIES HISTORY:
Malone and Walsh have the most common rivalry in Malone men's basketball history, with 122 games played going back to 1964. The Pioneers are 42-80 all-time against the Cavaliers. Malone and Walsh split the season series one year ago, with each team winning on their home floor.
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (4-5, 3-5 G-MAC) @ Walsh University (7-2, 7-2 G-MAC)
Cecchini Center – North Canton, Ohio
Live Video/Stats:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/walsh/
MALONE PIONEERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule |
Roster |
Statistics
Malone put together a dominating offensive performance in Thursday's win over Cedarville 99-87. The Pioneers have won four of their last five games, but are 0-4 on the road in the 2020-21 season.
The home win against Cedarville propels Malone to sixth in the conference standings. The Pioneers held the Yellow Jackets to 9-for-27 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. That effort will have to be replicated on Saturday as the Walsh Cavaliers are a premiere threat from distance.
The top six on the Pioneer depth chart all played more than 30 minutes in the last game and all put up big numbers.
Bo Myers (25 pts) and
Bryce Butler (20 pts) led Malone in scoring and are both in the upper echelon of individual G-MAC scorers. Myers sits second at 19.0 points per game and Butler fifth with 16.9 points per contest.
Marcus Ernst joins them in the top 10 at tenth with 15.0 points per game.
Jaret Majestic is coming off a game where he hit five three-point field goals and scored his 1,000th career point as a Pioneer. In the last eight games where Majestic has made at least four shots from behind the line, he has followed that up with a double-digit scoring game in seven of those.
Malone recorded an assist on 22 of their 31 made shots on Thursday, with
Bryce Butler (9) and
Justin Miller (7) leading the way. The Pioneers are second in the conference at 16.11 assists per game and 21st in the nation.
WALSH CAVALIERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule |
Roster |
Statistics
Walsh is coming off of a 95-69 victory at Ohio Valley on Tuesday. Before a loss at home against Kentucky Wesleyan the game before, they were winners of four straight. Milan Square was the leading scorer against the Fighting Scots with 24 points off the bench.
Walsh has one of the stingiest defenses in the conference, holding their opponents to 62.6 points per game and a league-low 39.7% from the field. They also force a ton of turnovers and have the best turnover margin in the G-MAC at 4.44.
Darryl Straughter is the conference's leading scorer at the guard position at 18.7 points per game. Straughter is one of the G-MAC's best long range threats. On the season, he is 30-for-77 (39.0%) from deep and shoots the second-most three-point field goals per contest in the league.
The Cavaliers return two other starters in Christian Montigue and Caleb Canter. Montigue missed the first four games of the season, but recently has come out of his shell offensively. He shot 9-of-13 against Ohio Valley for 21 points and has hit three or more shots from beyond the arc in three consecutive games. Canter, a 6'6 forward, is hit or miss offensively, but is a staple on the defensive end of the floor and is the team's leading rebounder.
Filling the last two starting spots in the Cavalier starting lineup are Garrison Keeslar and Luke Howes, both freshmen. Keeslar is a guard/forward mix and can do everything well. He distributed a career-best five assists in Tuesday's win. Howes exploded for career highs in points (19), rebounds (11) and assists (6) in a win against Trevecca early in the season.
