CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. - The Malone University men's basketball team won in a hard-fought game on the road against Thomas More University, 59-58. The Pioneers improve to 14-10 on the year, and the Saints fall to 11-13. In the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), Malone is 7-9, and Thomas More drops to 5-12.
 
The first half was all Pioneers as they had a 16-7 lead from a layup by Josiah Pierre with 12:13 in the half. As Thomas More battled back to close the gap, Jake Bruns had a steal and created a successful fastbreak to make the score 23-20 with 5:18 on the clock. The Pioneers continued their momentum as they extended their lead 29-20 with a three by Nic Williams with 2:50 left. In the final 32 seconds of the half, Austin Niekamp made a triple and gave Malone a comfortable 36-25 point lead at halftime.
 
The Pioneers started the second half with heat as Bruns knocked down a three within the first 16 seconds of the half to make the score 39-25. As the game continued, the Saints slowly closed the gap and took a 45-43 lead with 12:04 to play. From there, Thomas More would go on an offensive run as they created a 54-46 lead over the Pioneers with 6:44 left in the game. Malone rallied together in the last six minutes with the help of Williams and Pierre to tie the game 56-56 with 1:57 to go. The Saints had the lead 58-56 with 1:27 left, but Bruns sealed the Pioneers' victory with a three with 16 seconds left. The defense was able to get one final stop on the defensive end of the floor for the 59-58 win.
 
The Pioneers were led by Bruns, as he had a career-high 19 points. Bruns also had a career-high for threes as he was 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. Pierre was a key player in possession as he secured seven rebounds for Malone and recorded a season-high seven assists.
 
The Pioneers will look to use this win as momentum as they host the Ashland University Eagles on February 19 at Osborne Hall in another G-MAC matchup. Tip-off is at 7:30 P.M.