CANTON -- The Malone University men's basketball team was back on the court inside Osborne Hall on Tuesday night for their makeup game with the University of Findlay. 

The game was originally scheduled for early January, but had to be postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). 

The Oilers (17-8, 11-6 G-MAC) were clinging to a one-point halftime lead. The Pioneers (17-8, 12-6 G-MAC) fought back in the second-half but had a buzzer-beater three-pointer fall off the rim,  which allowed Findlay to escape Canton with a 79-76 win.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
For the second-consecutive outing Malone dug themselves into an early hole. Less than five minutes into the game Findlay held a 13-3 lead. 

The Oilers' advantage grew to 21-10 before the Pioneers mounted their comeback. 

Bryce Butler drilled a three-pointer that started an 8-0 Malone run. The run was capped off by a three-point play from Marcus Ernst that cut Findlay's lead down to 21-18 with 9:42 left in the half. 

A couple of possessions later, a Justin Miller jumper pulled the Pioneers to within just one point at 23-22. 

The Oilers split a pair of free throws on their end of the floor, and MU got four straight points from Butler to put Malone ahead for the first time all night. 

The Pioneers led by as many as five points late in the half, but Findlay scored the final six points of the period unanswered to carry a 36-35 advantage into halftime. 

The first four points of the second-half went the way of Malone to put the Pioneers back in the lead at 39-36. 

The lead swapped sides several times in the second-half, with neither team able to put any distance between themselves and the opponent. 

Findlay got their advantage out to five once, but Malone answered with a Justin Miller triple to quickly get it back to a one-possession game. 

The Pioneers largest lead came when Miller broke a 59-59 tie with another three-pointer to put MU up 62-59 with 8:31 left to play in the game. 

The Oilers quickly answered with a trey of their own on the other end to tie the game back up. From that point on, the back-and-forth continued down the stretch, but neither team ever led by more than a single possession. 

Miller put Malone out front 70-69 with a layup at the 4:58 mark, unfortunately that would be the last time the Pioneers led. 

Findlay was on top 77-76, and had possession of the basketball, with just over a minute left in the game. Malone's defense rose to the occasion and came away with a stop, but the Pioneers' offense could not convert on the other end. 

Two Oiler free throws made it 79-76 with less than four seconds remaining. Malone got a decent look at a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot was off the rim and UF escaped Osborne Hall with the win.

PIONEER POINTS

• Marcus Ernst led Malone with 21 points. He was 7-12 from the field and 7-9 from the charity stripe. For the second consecutive game, he also tied his career-high with 17 rebounds. He is quickly closing in on the number two spot on Malone's all-time rebounding list. 
• Bryce Butler added 20 points. He was just 5-14 from the field, but was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. He has now scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games. 
• Justin Miller poured in 17 points, and dished out a team-high six rebounds.
• Bo Myers closed out the double-digit scorers for Malone with 13 points
• The Pioneers outrebounded the Oilers 40-26. 15 of those boards were on the offensive end which led to a 21-13 advantage on second-chance points.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Malone will host Cedarville University on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.