CANTON -- The 2022 calendar turns the page to March this week, and right on cue, the Malone University men's basketball team is gearing up for another postseason run. 

The Pioneers have earned the No. 4 seed in this year's Great Midwest Championship Tournament, and will host a quarterfinal game. 

2022 Great Midwest Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Bracket

GAME INFORMATION
The Matchup: (No. 5) University of Findlay Oilers (18-9, 12-7 G-MAC) at (No. 4) Malone University Pioneers (18-9, 13-7 G-MAC)
Where: Canton, Ohio | Osborne Hall
When: Tuesday, March 1 | 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Malone University Ticket Office 
Live Video Stream: Great Midwest Digital Network
Live Stats: Great Midwest Digital Network

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 59th meeting all-time, and the third in the last three weeks, between these two schools. The Oilers have dominated the overall series 41-17.

Findlay swept the regular season series from Malone this year.

The Oilers won the first matchup played in Findlay on February 12 by a final score of 96-72. Then, just one week ago, UF came into Osborne Hall and escaped with a 79-76 win after Malone's game-tying three-pointer fell off the rim at the buzzer. 

The last Pioneer win in the series came in February of 2021. A career-high 33 points from Bryce Butler helped fuel the 89-83 Senior Day win for the Pioneers.


WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MALONE UNIVERSITY
Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Malone closed out the 2021-22 regular season on Saturday with an 89-80 win over Ohio Dominican University. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Pioneers, their first three-game slide since the beginning of the 2020-21 season. 
• Marcus Ernst's play is peaking at the right time of the season. He led the Pioneers on Saturday with 25 points, and also pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds. He has posted double-double performances in four straight games heading into the postseason. Ernst is averaging 13.9 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, making him one of just two players in the G-MAC averaging a double-double. 
• With 17 points against ODU, Bryce Butler's season scoring average now stands at a team-best 17.4 points per game. That number is third-best in the league. 
• Bo Myers is right behind Butler at 16.2 points per game (fourth in the G-MAC). He has scored in double-digits in all but five games this year. In the earlier road game at Findlay this year, Bo Myers scored a game-high 21 points. He was 5-10 from beyond the three-point line.
• Justin Miller scored 18 points on Saturday, and has now had double-digit scoring efforts in five consecutive games. He is also fourth in the G-MAC with 106 assists (3.9 per game) this season. 
• Jaret Majestic is also averaging in double-digits for the Pioneers at 10.1 points per game. After being held in check offensively since early January, Majestic poured in 11 points in Saturday's win. 
• At 80.6 points per game, Malone still has the G-MAC's top scoring offense. Defensively they are tenth, allowing opponents to score 74.8 points per game. 

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF FINDLAY
Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Findlay is coming off of an 82-81 overtime win at Tiffin University that closed out the regular season on Saturday. The Oilers trailed 67-63 with under 30 seconds to play in regulation before senior forward Deven Stover scored and was fouled. Stover's bucket cut the lead to two and senior guard Tre'Maine Gray grabbed the offensive rebound off of Stover's missed free throw to tie the game with 18 ticks left. Tiffin then missed a three at the buzzer as the game headed to overtime. In the extra session, the Dragons were leading 81-80 with only seconds remaining, but senior forward Anthony Masterlasco scored on a layup with six seconds to play to give Findlay a one-point lead. The Dragons then missed another shot at the buzzer as Findlay ended their regular season with a victory.
• The Oilers rank fourth in the G-MAC on offense, averaging 76.9 points per game. Their defense is sixth, giving up 71.7 points per game. 
• Junior Nathan Burns is the team's leading scorer at 14.7 points per game. That puts him ninth in the G-MAC. Burns is also fourth in the league in field goal percentage (53.4%), and fifth in the G-MAC in rebounding at 7.3 boards per game. He scored 17 points against Malone on February 12, and went for 18 in Findlay's win over the Pioneers last week. 
• Tre'Maine Gray (12.4 ppg), Anthony Masterlasco (12.1 ppg), Joey Edmonds (10.8 ppg) all are also averaging double digit points for the Oilers. Gray scored a game-high 22 points in last week's game. 
• Joey Edmonds has the third-best assist/turnover ratio in the G-MAC at 2.6. He has 87 assists to just 34 turnovers this season. 
• Findlay, who was picked to finish third in the conference in the preseason coaches poll, is under the direction of head coach Charlie Ernst who is in his eleventh season leading the Oilers. 

UP NEXT
The winner of Tuesday night's quarterfinal game will advance to the semifinals, and play the No. 1 seed Walsh University in North Canton. Tip-off of that semifinal is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Both of Friday's semifinals, as well as Saturday's G-MAC championship game, will be played at Walsh University regardless of outcome.