The Malone University men's basketball team kept its GLIAC postseason hopes alive after an 86-81 victory at conference opponent Wayne State University (MI) on Thursday night.
 
With the win, the Pioneers improved to 11-15 overall and to 9-11 in the GLIAC while, with the loss, the Warriors dropped to 5-18 overall and to 5-15 in GLIAC play.
 
The hosts held a small lead for most of the first half and although Malone was able to tie the game up on five different occasions in the first 13+ minutes, it wasn't until a Neil Gingerich layup with 6:22 left in the first period that Malone held its first lead of the contest at 27-25.  The ninth tie of the stanza, at 36-all, came with just over a minute left before the Warriors took a 39-38 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
 
Malone began to pull away early in the second frame, holding an eight-point 51-43 lead with 15:26 remaining, before WSU went on a 12-4 run to tie the game at 55-all at the 11:50 mark.  Although the visiting Pioneers would proceed to open up a nine-point lead, its largest of the game, at 75-66 with just 2:19 left in the game, the hosts would not go quietly as the Warriors clawed back to within three at 81-78 with 30 seconds remaining. But down the stretch, five Pioneer free throw conversions to one three-point connection by the Warriors just before the final buzzer was enough to seal the 86-81 victory for Malone.
 
Although Malone took 11 fewer shots from the field than the Warriors, the Pioneers made up for it with their numerous trips to the charity stripe on this night.  And despite a disappointing 60% effort from the free throw line, Malone's 24 conversions on a hefty 40 attempts were enough to earn the five-point win.
 
Four Pioneers reached double digits in scoring led by guard Ben Haraway who tossed in 19 points while dishing out a team-best seven assists.  Center Brian Stone followed with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor while grabbing six rebounds. 
 
Gingerich was also very efficient from the field, hitting five of seven shots en route to an 11-point night.  Gingerich also yanked down nine rebounds which tied for a team high with forward Mitch Spotleson, who also contributed eight points to the Pioneer cause.  In addition, forward Gus Simmers rounded out the twin figure scoring with 10 points.
 
Wayne State was paced by Clark Bishop who tallied a game-best 20 points while Michael Lewis pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
In its next outing, Malone will host the University of Findlay (14-10, 11-9) on Saturday in a 3:00 p.m. contest.  Live stats will be available.