CANTON -- The Malone University men's basketball team begins a three-game Great Midwest Athletic Conference road swing this weekend. 

The Pioneers will make the trip to Hillsdale College to take on the nationally ranked Chargers.

GAME INFORMATION
The Matchup: Malone University Pioneers (10-3, 5-1 G-MAC) at #20 Hillsdale College Chargers (9-3, 4-2 G-MAC)
Where: Hillsdale, Michigan | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena
When: Saturday, January 8 | 3:00 p.m. 
Tickets: Hillsdale College Ticket Office
Live Video Stream: Great Midwest Digital Network
Live Stats: Great Midwest Digital Network

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the seventeenth meeting all-time between these two schools. Hillsdale leads the all-time series 11-5

Hillsdale won both regular season matchups last season. However, Malone bounced the top-seeded Chargers from the 2021 Great Midwest Men's Basketball Championship Tournament with a 74-64 win in the semifinal round. 

The G-MAC semifinal win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Pioneers in the series. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MALONE UNIVERSITY
Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Malone picked up their tenth win of the season with a 100-82 win over Tiffin University on Monday night. It was the Pioneers' fifteenth straight win overall inside of Osborne Hall, and their fourth time scoring at least 100 points in a game this season. 
• Bo Myers, who led all scorers with a game-high 31 points in Monday's win, needs just 23 more points to reach the 1,000 point plateau. He would become the second Pioneer player to reach that career milestone this season. Bryce Butler scored his 1,000th point in Malone's 102-84 win over the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown back on November 30. 
• Monday's offensive outburst pushed Malone's season average to a G-MAC leading 85.6 points per game. The Pioneers hold the league's best scoring margin, as they limit their opponents to an average of 73.0 points per game.
• The strong game by Bo Myers on Monday moved him up to fourth overall in the conference in scoring. He leads Malone with 17.4 points per game. Bryce Butler (16.9 ppg) and Justin Miller (16.4 ppg) are not far off however. Jaret Majestic, who poured in eight three-pointers on Monday night, is the only other Pioneer player averaging in double-digits (14.5).
• Marcus Ernst pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds on Monday. He has now topped double-digit rebounds in three straight games, and is second in the conference averaging 8.8 boards per game.
• Head Coach Casey Kaufman enters Saturday's contest with 99 career head-coaching wins in his seven-year career at Malone. One more win would make him just the third Pioneer coach to win at least 100 games during their career.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HILLSDALE COLLEGE
Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Chargers enter Saturday's game as the No. 20 ranked team in the most recent NABC NCAA Division II Top-25 poll. 
• Hillsdale is coming off of a 76-52 loss at home to Walsh University on Thursday night. The Chargers shot a season-low mark of 29.6 percent from the floor, their worst shooting performance in a game since a February 13, 2018 loss at Ohio Dominican nearly four full years ago.
• Reigning G-MAC Player of the Year Patrick Cartier has led Hillsdale in scoring in all but two games this season. He enters Saturday's game as the leading scorer in the G-MAC averaging 22.6 points per game.
• Hillsdale's defense is tops in the conference giving up just 64.5 points per game. 
• Hillsdale, who was picked to repeat as the conference champions in the preseason coaches poll, is under the direction of head coach John Tharp. Tharp is in his fifteenth season leading the Chargers, and holds the school record with a 260-138 overall record during his tenure. 

UP NEXT
Malone will be away from home next week as well. The Pioneers travel to Ohio Dominican University on Thursday, January 13, and to Cedarville University on Saturday, January 15.