CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's basketball team hosted Cedarville University for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) game on Thursday night. The Pioneers lost by a score of 81-71 to fall to 6-10 and 2-6 in the league. The Yellow Jackets now hold an overall record of 8-7 and 3-5 in the G-MAC.
 
Simon Blair netted a pair of shots early on for Malone, but Cedarville would jump out to a double-digit lead before the halfway point in the period at 18-8. Tre Baumgardner III and Fraser LaRocque had baskets that cut the deficit back to single digits, however the Yellow Jackets would balloon the lead back to 17 at the break, 44-27.
 
Cedarville used fastbreak opportunities in the second half to maintain their advantage and foul trouble for the Pioneers would hurt. The Yellow Jackets were 22-of-27 from the charity stripe in the second half alone to remain in front.
 
Nate Gordon, Jacob Ernst and Oliver Stefanovic came off the bench late to limit the damage and get the final score to 81-71. Ernst netted nine points late with a pair of and-ones. Malone ended the game on an 11-2 run and shot 54.8% (17-for-31) in the second half as a final positive to take away from the loss.
 
The Pioneers won both points on turnovers (13-7) and points in the paint (44-28). Cedarville scored in transition effectively with a 14-2 edge. The opponents shot 51.1% (23-of-45) on the night and 7-of-15 from deep. Blair (15 points) and Baumgardner III (14 points) led Malone in scoring. 
 
Malone is back at Osborne Hall on Saturday, January 18 to host another G-MAC game. Malone will tip-off against Thomas More University at 3:00 P.M.