COLUMBUS, Ohio - A red hot shooting night for the Malone University men's basketball team helped the Pioneers to secure a road win over Ohio Dominican University, 76-66. Malone moved to 12-6 and 5-5 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) action behind a 58.0% (29-of-50) performance from the field and 42.1% (8-for-19) from three. The Panthers are 12-6 as well, but remain one game up on the Pioneers in the conference standings at 6-4.
 
After Malone surrendered a layup on the first possession, the Pioneers rattled off ten in a row before the opening media timeout. Sophomore Joey DeGeorge knocked down a pair of three-point tries during the run. Junior Josiah Pierre kept the run going out of the timeout with a couple of mid-range jump shots and with a 16-2 lead, Ohio Dominican was forced into a timeout to try to stop the bleeding.
 
Freshman Crew Cain netted two field goals to help get to the under-12 media timeout with an 18-2 edge. The Panthers went without a score for nearly eight minutes but finally made a layup out of the break. Malone was 7-of-8 from the floor on the 18-0 run.
 
DeGeorge was true again from downtown to hinder a modest 6-0 Ohio Dominican scoring difference just passed the halfway point in the first period, but the home squad creeped their way back into the game at 23-15. Head Coach Charlie Wallrapp utilized a 30-second break as well to try to reclaim the momentum with eight minutes remaining.
 
The timeout did the job to allow the Pioneers to retain the lead at halftime, 38-32, but the Panthers scored nine points in the final two minutes of the first. Malone shot an incredible 65.4% (17-for-26) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The lead expanded to double figures five minutes in to the second half with a pair of free throws by Pierre, 47-37. Senior Jake Bruns netted a pair of field goals to widen the gap to 51-37 just before the media timeout at 11:39 on the clock. Another Ohio Dominican scoring drought of seven minutes in length allowed the Pioneers to build a 17-point advantage when junior Nic Williams took advantage of a defensive breakdown.
 
The assault from deep continued when DeGeorge and Pierre made threes just passed the halfway point in the half, but the Panthers did not go away quietly. Senior Emmanuel Oladeru imposed his will inside to halt an 11-3 run for Ohio Dominican with a putback layup and then a dunk to go up 64-51 with 5:46 to play. The Panthers tried, but Malone did enough to answer offensively to not let Ohio Dominican get back into striking distance late in the 76-66 victory.
 
Four student-athletes finished in double figures for the Pioneers. Oladeru led the charge with 19 points and a team-high nine boards on 9-of-11 shooting. Pierre totaled 17 points while DeGeorge nailed five three-point field goals for 15 points and Cain ended the night with 14 points.
 
Malone will look to defeat another team ahead of them in the conference standings when Walsh University visits Osborne Hall on Saturday, January 24. The 23rd-ranked team in NCAA Division II Cavaliers and Pioneers are scheduled to do battle beginning at 3:00 P.M.