HILLSDALE, Mich. – The Malone University men's basketball team continued their march through the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament with a 58-55 Semifinal Round win over Hillsdale College. Malone is now 15-15 overall while the Chargers season comes to an end at 20-10.
 
The Pioneers were led in scoring by seniors Simon Blair and Ryan Bartley. The duo combined for 45 of the team's 58 points. Blair tied his career-high with 26 points on 11-of-22 from the field while Bartley was 7-of-16 en route to 19 points. The defense was able to hold Hillsdale to 3-of-16 (18.8%) from deep.
 
The two squads were evenly matched in the opening minutes, with three-point shooting by Blair and Bartley keeping Malone to within one possession. The Chargers were able to pull away to a six-point lead at 21-15 halfway through the period, but a 6-0 run capped by a pair of free throws by Fraser LaRocque evened the score once again. Caleb Conard had the final four points of the period as the teams were deadlocked 27-27.
 
Hillsdale rattled off six straight to start the second half and eventually claimed a seven-point advantage at 38-31 with 13 minutes to go. Blair scored seven in a row for the Pioneers and Bartley cashed in a three that put the Pioneers back in front, 41-40 at the halfway point.
 
Starting with those two field goals, the game-changing run was a 13-point outburst by Malone to secure a nine-point lead, 49-40. A layup by Bartley a few minutes later gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the night, 52-42 with less than five minutes remaining.
 
Malone was not out of the woods yet, however as the home team had momentum on their side late in the game. The lead was trimmed all the way down to one at 54-53 with 1:25 on the clock. Just as he did all evening, Blair soared to the rim for a layup to keep Hillsdale from taking the lead.
 
The Chargers hit a layup with nine seconds left to get back to within one, but Bartley answered with a pair of free throws with seven seconds to go to give Hillsdale only a chance to tie. The last-ditch effort by the Chargers missed the mark and the Pioneers prevailed, 58-55.
 
Conard and Tre Baumgardner III tied for the team lead with seven rebounds apiece. Blair was credited with two assists. Conard had two blocks and two steals on his statline.
 
Tip-off for the G-MAC Tournament Championship game at Hillsdale College will be at 3:00 P.M. against the four-seed, Thomas More University Saints. The teams met one time in the regular season and Malone came out on top at home, 73-62.