CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's basketball team completed the season sweep of the Walsh University Cavaliers on Tuesday night, 75-64. It is the first time in program history that the Pioneers knocked off Walsh in all three season matchups.
 
Malone started the game on a 12-0 run and led wire-to-wire in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Quarterfinal game. As the number four seed, Malone will travel to the top-seeded Hillsdale Chargers, who will host the remaining G-MAC Championship games.
 
With the win, Malone continues their winning streak with their eighth consecutive victory and are 15-6 on the year. Walsh ends their season with an 11-9 record.
 
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED:
The Pioneer defense locked up the Cavaliers in the opening minutes. Malone went on a 12-0 scoring run to begin the game. Five different players had made field goals for the Pioneers, including Levi Seiler, Jaret Majestic, Bryce Butler, Marcus Ernst and Justin Miller.
 
Off the bench, Nic Smith would not be denied in this one. Smith scored 11 points as Walsh went on an 11-2 run to get all the way back to within one at 14-13 halfway through the period.
 
Back-to-back three's by Jaret Majestic and Justin Miller swept away all momentum the road team brought to the table early. Another shot from long range by Majestic extended the lead back to seven at 25-18 with five minutes left.
 
Three-point field goals by Jaret Majestic, Bo Myers and Justin Miller were catalysts of an 11-2 run to close the half and the Pioneers took a 36-22 lead into the locker room.
 
Defensively, Malone stifled Walsh in the first and held them to 10-for-31 (32.2%) and 0-for-11 from three.
 
Milan Square finally netted the first three-point shot of the day on the first Walsh offensive possession. It was met by three points from the Pioneers via a Marcus Ernst made free throw and Levi Seiler lay-up.
 
The largest lead of the game came with 16 minutes remaining in the game when Bryce Butler converted a lay-up to make it 45-28 and force a Cavalier timeout. Walsh chipped away, but were never able to put a full comeback effort together with the likes of Bryce Butler and Justin Miller continuing to push the gas offensively for the home squad.
 
After pushing the lead all the way back up to 17 once again off a pair of Butler free throws, Darryl Straughter went on a 6-0 run by himself, including a four-point play on a made three-point attempt. Straughter hit free throws with four minutes left to bring it all the way down to single digits at 67-58.
 
The final media timeout provided the energy for the Pioneers to slam the door shut on a comeback as Bryce Butler scored the final eight points for Malone to cruise to a 75-64 victory.
 
It was another career night for Bryce Butler against Walsh, as he scored a team-high 23 points, brought in seven rebounds and dished out six assists. Nic Smith's previous career-best was nine points, but exploded for 28 total points on 12-of-18 shooting.
 
PIONEER POINTS:

• The Pioneers shot above 50% from the field in their third consecutive game and the seventh time in the last eight games at 54.9% (28-for-51). Defensively, Walsh had the second-lowest field goal percentage of any Pioneer opponent this season at 35.3% (24-for-68).
• In a game that had a slow pace, Malone held a slight 6-2 advantage on fast break opportunities.
• Bryce Butler had 23 points, but shot above 50% as an individual for the third straight game at 8-for-14 (57.1%).
• Justin Miller (18 points) and Jaret Majestic (11 points) were the only other double-figure scorers for Malone.
• Marcus Ernst crashed the glass well with a game-high 11 rebounds.

 
UP NEXT:
The #4 Pioneers will travel to Hillsdale College on Friday to take on the #1 Chargers. Tip-off is TBD.