NORTH CANTON, Ohio - The Pioneers traveled north to face Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) rival, the Walsh University Cavaliers on Thursday. Malone (8-10, 4-6 G-MAC) was able to secure their second win in a row 68-62 over Walsh (6-10, 2-8 G-MAC).
 
The Pioneers got going early as they opened the first 10 minutes on a 23-10 run. Senior guards Tahleik Walker and Simon Blair had two three-point field goals each in that span. Despite Walsh's offense starting to click, seniors Ryan Bartley and Tre Baumgardner III continued to knock down shots as they rose the lead to 14 points at 31-17. Bartley's first half was highlighted by a three-point make that gave Malone a 34-23 lead at the half.
 
The lead would grow to 18 thanks to a dump down dunk from Blair to Fraser LaRocque and a Baumgardner III triple at 52-34 with 11:38 to play. That would be the largest lead of the game for Malone as the Cavaliers began to chip away.
 
Walsh was able to get the lead to a few as four with five seconds remaining, but Baumgardner III knocked down two from the charity stripe to secure the victory.
 
"We talked about it at halftime and knew they would make a run at some point," Head Coach Charlie Wallrapp said post-game. "We stayed composed, battled through it and stayed mentally tough. We were a little frazzled at times, but at the end of the day we were able to get stops down the stretch."
 
Malone shared the wealth offensively with four Pioneer seniors in double figures, led by Bartley with 18 points. Baumgardner III (16), Walker (15), and Blair (11) rounded out the other top scorers. Walker snatched a career-high nine rebounds and led Malone to an 11-7 difference in second chance points and a 22-18 mark in paint points.
 
"We've been preaching togetherness at practice and taking care of things one game at a time," Baumgardner III added.
 
The Pioneers will look to take momentum on the road as they head to Owensboro, Kentucky for their next G-MAC matchup on Saturday, January 25 against the Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 P.M. CST inside the Owensboro Sportscenter.