CANTON, Ohio — The Malone University men's basketball team put on a show against Kent State University at Tuscarawas, 107-80. With this non-conference matchup, the Pioneers improve to 10-2 while the Golden Eagles drop to 8-7 on the year.
The first half started quickly for Malone as
Josiah Pierre made a good layup within the first 50 seconds of the half. From there, Kent State at Tuscarawas would have some momentum and had a lead until
Austin Niekamp was successful with a layup to tie the game at 6-6 with 16:04 left in the half.
The first half continued to stay close between the two teams until the Pioneers extended their lead to 21-15 with a layup by
Emmanuel Oladeru with 9:06 left. The Golden Eagles would fight back and cut the deficit to only four points with 6:45 left. Malone would find another momentum shift as
Jake Bruns was successful on his two free throws, followed up with a steal by
Jacob Ernst and cashing it in with a layup to make the score 31-23 with 5:47 left in the half.
The Pioneers would then have a 35-25 lead over Kent State at Tuscarawas with a successful layup by Pierre with 4:32 left. The Flashes tried to keep the Pioneers close towards the end of the first half but
Nic Williams nailed a three-pointer with seven seconds left before halftime to extend Malone's lead to 48-36.
The Pioneers came out of the break with unfinished business as they extended their lead quickly with two free throws by Pierre at 19:50 and another three-pointer by Williams at 19:15 to make the score 53-36. Williams continued his onslaught with five second half three's to put the team ahead 76-53.
As the game came to a close,
Tate Aljancic would hit a three-pointer with 5:54 left making the score 89-72, followed by another three-pointer by Ernst with 5:23 left. With 1:02 left in the game, we would see
Nick Wigton seal the game with a three-pointer assisted by
Crew Cain to get to the final score of 107-80.
Malone's offense was on fire as Ernst and Williams finished the night with 21 points each. Williams also finished the night with a 70% three-point success rate. Ernst had a team-high eight rebounds and eight assists as well.
The Malone men's basketball team looks to carry their momentum into the new year as they travel to Hillsdale Michigan, to take on the Hillsdale College Chargers for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) matchup. Tip-off time is at 3:00 P.M.
