CANTON, Ohio – After dealing Lake Erie College their lone loss at home earlier this season, the Malone University men's basketball team came up short in the rematch with the Storm. Lake Erie was able to hit free throws late to secure a 71-66 win over the Pioneers.
The loss drops Malone to 8-12 overall in the 2024-25 campaign, with a 4-8 mark inside the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). The opponents are now 14-6 and 7-5 in league play.
Simon Blair was the catalyst offensively with 21 points and three made tries from beyond the arc.
Tahleik Walker contributed with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds and
Ryan Bartley tallied 11 points.
Tre Baumgardner III had three of the team's seven assists.
The Pioneers led by as many as nine at 13-4 after a
Jacob Ernst jump shot in the paint. The Storm chipped away at the Malone lead and got back to even at 22-22 with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
A trio of three-point plays by Blair and Bartley extended the lead towards the end of the first period and at the first half buzzer, the score was 35-31. The Pioneers were 12-of-23 (52.2%) from the field in the first half, but a 13-0 edge on second chance points for Lake Erie allowed them to stay in striking distance.
After not trailing in the first half, Malone would see their first deficit within the first five minutes of the second period. The Storm would do just as the Pioneers did and lay claim to a nine-point advantage at 8:58 to go, but they could not break through for a double-digit lead either.
Malone looked inside to their post presence in
Caleb Conard to mount a comeback and while the team got back to within one possession, Lake Erie was in front the rest of the contest. The Pioneers trailed by nine once more with 1:41 left on the clock, but a three-point play by Walker and a layup by Conard made it 65-61 with 42 seconds to play.
The Storm made enough of their free throws to maintain the gap and a dunk on the breakaway would seal the deal at 71-66. Both teams were nearly even from the field at 43.5% (Lake Erie) and 43.4% (Malone), but the Storm were able to force 10 Pioneer turnovers while committing five themselves.
The men's basketball team is on the road for their next game at Tiffin University on Saturday, February 1. Tip-off is set for 1:00 P.M. prior to the start of the women's basketball game between the two schools.
