CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University men's basketball team fell short against Ashland University for a 68-61 loss. The Pioneers fall to a 14-11 overall record and 7-10 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). The Eagles are now 19-7 overall and 13-5 in the G-MAC.
Malone started the game up 5-0 with baskets from
Austin Niekamp and
Josiah Pierre. Ashland went on scoring run to tie the score at 7-7 with 12:48 left in the half. A layup from Pierre put the Pioneers back up, but a three from the Eagles made it 10-9.
Joey DeGeorge was able to answer with his own triple but Ashland tied it up again, 12-12. At 9:48, the Eagles took the lead remainder of the game going on a 14-1 scoring run to put them up with a score of 26-13. Shots from
Tate Aljancic and
Jake Bruns attempted to shorten the Ashland lead but resulted in a 35-18 score to end the half.
Just 30 seconds into the second, a layup from Aljancic made the score 35-20. At 12:49, Malone went on a short scoring run to bring them within ten at 43-33. Baskets came from
Logan Forbes and
Nic Williams to highlight the run. A little after the midway point in the half, Williams drilled two triples which made the score 49-42 at 7:46 on the clock. Another three for the Pioneers came from Niekamp shortly after to bring them within four at 49-45. The Eagles knocked down some foul shots and their own three to keep themselves up 54-45. Shots from Williams, Bruns, and Pierre brought Malone within two at 2:47 left in the game. Ashland was able to hold their lead by knocking down free throws to end the game at 68-61.
Williams led Malone with 21 points and Pierre ended with 14. Forbes had five rebounds on the game and went 3-for-5 (60.0%) from the field. As a team, the Pioneers shot 48.4% from the field going 15-for-31 and 85.7% (6-for-7) from the foul line in the second half. They won in fastbreak points (7-2), points off turnovers (19-8), and second chance points (17-4).
Up next is Senior Day for the Pioneers on Saturday, February 21. They will host Lake Erie College with a start time of 3:00 P.M. The outgoing class will be honored immediately following the conclusion of the women's basketball game at 1:00 P.M.
