HILLSDALE, Michigan – The Malone University men's basketball team outlasted the #1 Hillsdale Chargers in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) semifinals on Friday evening 74-64 on the Chargers' home floor. This is Malone's ninth consecutive victory and 14th in their last 15 games.

The unprecedented streak can be topped off on Saturday afternoon in the conference championship game, a feat Malone men's basketball has never accomplished in the G-MAC. The #4 seeded Malone Pioneers will face the #6 Cedarville Yellow Jackets at 4 pm at Hillsdale on Saturday. Malone is now 16-6 overall and Hillsdale ends their bid for a conference championship at 20-2.
 
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED:
Things looked grim for the Pioneers early on as Hillsdale went on a 7-0 run to start the game. Bryce Butler converted a lay-up almost three minutes into the contest for the first Malone points, and from there the road team exploded on a 12-2 run with scores on five of six possessions. The Pioneers took a 17-14 lead into the first media timeout with just over 12 minutes left in the first and Malone never trailed again in the game.
 
Butler converted an and-one and Jaret Majestic knocked down a three to extend the lead to nine at 23-14. After being inserted into the game with nine minutes to play in the first half, Brian Read cashed a three and sank a lay-up to be a huge contributor in his time off the bench.
 
Scores by Marcus Ernst, Levi Seiler and Justin Miller late in the half were critical in keeping Hillsdale from making a run to get back in the game.
 
Marcus Ernst connected on a jump shot in the paint off of a Jaret Majestic feed to give the Pioneers a double digit advantage with just over 30 seconds left in the first half and Bryce Butler hit a step-back jumper at the elbow to clinch a 41-29 advantage at the break.
 
Malone shot 44% in the first half, and went 6-of-12 from beyond the arc, with shots from Majestic (2), Myers, Butler, Read and Miller.
 
After a scoreless first two minutes of play in the second, Malone got back-to-back baskets from Bryce Butler and Levi Seiler. The next five were dominated by the Chargers, as the home team went on an 11-0 run led by G-MAC Player of the Year Patrick Cartier with six.
 
With the score at 45-40, Marcus Ernst distributed the basketball to Bo Myers on a cut to end the run. Ernst converted inside on a behind-the-back pass from Justin Miller on the following possession to make it 49-40 with 12 minutes left. Patrick Cartier recorded an and-one that was answered by a Justin Miller three on the other end going into the media timeout.
 
At the halfway point in the period, Bo Myers knocked down a three off an assist from Seiler in the post to give Malone a 57-44 lead and force a timeout from Hillsdale head coach John Tharpe.
 
In a big moment of the game, Kyle Goessler hit from long range on back-to-back possessions and Cartier continued to dominate inside to rally the troops for the Chargers. Cartier finished a 10-2 Hillsdale run with an emphatic dunk off a pick and roll to trim the Pioneer lead all the way down to two at 63-61 with 3:15 to play.
 
Bo Myers found Marcus Ernst in the paint for two points, but Connor Hill, who had not made a field goal all night, got a three-point attempt to fall to make it 65-64. Justin Miller spun inside for the final field goal of the game to make it 67-64. "I was feeling confident in myself and my teammates that we would make the plays we needed to win this game," Miller commented afterwards.
 
Marcus Ernst and Bryce Butler connected on 7-of-8 attempts at the free throw line to secure the 74-64 victory.
 
Marcus Ernst scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the victory. Patrick Cartier sank 11-of-15 attempts and netted a game-high 24 points in the loss for Hillsdale.
 
"I'm really happy for our guys," Malone head coach Casey Kaufman said of the team's performance. "Everyone who played made significant contributions. There were a lot of similarities in previous games we have played with them and it was cool to see our composure and confidence in moments we struggled with earlier in the year. We're blessed to keep playing!"
 
"It means a lot for us to go for our first championship!" Bryce Butler mentioned after the game. "The job's not done yet and just being in that atmosphere with the pressure that's being brought is what we live for."
 
Marcus Ernst had this to say heading into tomorrow's G-MAC Championship contest: "We're not done yet. It was a good win for us tonight but we know the job's not finished. We won tonight with defense and playing as hard as we could, we know we will need to have that same intensity tomorrow. We did a good job of trusting each other and playing unselfishly and that is what is going to get the job done tomorrow."
 
PIONEER POINTS:

• As Marcus Ernst said, defense was key in the victory and the Pioneers held the most efficient scoring team in the league to just 47% (26-of-55) from the field and 35% (7-of-20) from three.
• Malone held a stout 38-29 rebounding advantage, including an 11-4 edge on the offensive glass. Marcus Ernst and Levi Seiler each had three o-boards to lead the Pioneers.
• Marcus Ernst had a team-high 17 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, most of which came on entry passes in to Cartier to prevent the G-MAC Player of the Year from getting the ball in the post.
• Bryce Butler (16), Justin Miller (12) and Bo Myers (10) were the other double-figure scorers for the fourth-seeded Malone Pioneers. Butler was also a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe and connected on his only attempt from long range in the game. Miller was 4-for-5 from the field overall, and Myers brought seven total rebounds down.
• Jaret Majestic led Malone in assists with four.

 
UP NEXT:
The #4 Malone Pioneers will square off with the #6 Cedarville Yellow Jackets after their upset win over #2 Findlay. Tip-off in the G-MAC Championship game that emanates from Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena in Hillsdale, Michigan, on Saturday, March 6 is set for 4 pm.