COLUMBUS, Ohio – A poor shooting second half resulted in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) loss by the Malone University men's basketball team at Ohio Dominican University on Saturday. The Pioneers (6-9, 2-5 G-MAC) were just 7-of-28 (25.0%) from the field in the final 20 minutes and came up short to the Panthers (7-8, 3-4 G-MAC) by a score of 69-57.
 
A trio of student-athletes for Malone were in double figures scoring, led by seniors Tre Baumgardner III and Simon Blair with 15 points each. Senior Ryan Bartley had 10 points off the bench. Baumgardner had a team-high seven rebounds and Blair five of the team's eight credited assists.
 
A 16-2 scoring run in the opening minutes put the visiting team in front 16-5 and forced Ohio Dominican to use a timeout to stop the bleeding. Blair had eight points during that span and Baumgardner knocked down a pair of three-point tries.
 
A made three by Bartley gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the day at 19-7, but the Panthers chipped away at the deficit. The lead was trimmed all the way down to two before seniors Tahleik Walker and Fraser LaRocque were successful on three-point attempts to widen the gap once more. The Pioneers entered the halftime break ahead 31-23.
 
Malone struggled to find answers for the opposing offense in the second half. Ohio Dominican shot 58.6% (17-for-29) in the period and outscored the Pioneers 46-26 in the 69-57 loss. The Panthers owned the painted area to the tune of a 40-18 difference in scoring inside.
 
Malone returns to Osborne Hall for a rematch with the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets on Thursday, January 16. The men's and women's basketball doubleheader kicks off at 5:30 P.M. with the men's game slotted for a 7:30 P.M. tip-off.