CANTON, Ohio.— The Malone men's basketball team welcomed Lake Erie College to Osborne Hall for a G-MAC contest on Saturday, December 2. The Storm came into the contest just 2-5 but fought until the end to grab the 74-69 win.

Essentials

• Lake Erie College Storm 74 - Malone University Pioneers 69
• Records: Malone (5-3, 0-2 G-MAC) | Lake Erie (3-6,1-1 G-MAC)
• Location: Canton, Ohio | Osborne Hall

The Game
Coming into the game, this was a much better Lake Erie team than what their record showed. Both teams were ready to go from the jump as Simon Blair buried a jumper to put Malone on the board first.

It was a back-and-forth battle and Fraser LaRocque sparked the Pioneers with a dunk to give them a three-point lead with 12:25 left in the first half.  The rest of the half continued to see both teams trading buckets.

The end of the half featured a buzzer beater by Caleb Conard to put Malone up 33-30.

The second half featured some high-intensity basketball. Lake Erie took a 52-50 lead with 10:28, but it didn't last for long. 

Aaron Badibo buried a three to give the lead back to Malone. Badibo was 6-7 from beyond the arc hitting some really tough shots.

With 1:56 remaining in the game, Malone took a 69-63 lead after Caleb Conard made a free throw. All the momentum was shifted to the side of the Pioneers and it seemed the hosts were poised to win the game.

Lake Erie had other plans. The storm closed out the final 1:38 on an 11-0 run to give them the impressive 74-69 win.

DETAILS

• Aaron Badibo led Malone with 24 points shooting 6-7 from beyond the arch
• Conard, Caleb had a solid outing with an 18 and 10 rebound double-double
• The Pioneers surrendered 40 points in the Paint defensively 

What's Next
Malone will be back in action on Saturday, December 9 as they host Trevecca Nazarene. The game is slated for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.

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