The Malone University men's basketball team fell short on the road to Ohio Dominican University on Saturday afternoon by the final score of 77-76.

The Pioneers got off to a slow first half as they only scored four points in nine minutes of action to Ohio Dominican's 14 points at the 11:05 mark. ODU was the team with the hot hand, as they would continue to lead by as much as 14 points throughout most of the first half. Malone would get within eight points when Nate Sheppard made three free throws followed by a made layup from Ben Haraway at the 2:26 mark. However, the Panthers would make a jumper and sink four free throws to extend their lead to 37-25 heading into intermission. ODU shot an impressive 56.5% from the field in the first half compared to Malone's 40.0%.   

The Pioneers would go on a 19-6 run in the first six minutes of the second half to take their first lead of the game at 44-43. Minutes later, Sheppard's three-pointer and three made free throws would start a 13-4 Malone surge, increasing the Pioneers' lead to 65-54 with 7:41 left on the clock.   

A three-pointer by ODU's Chad Nelson would start an 8-0 run to cut the deficit down to three points, making it MU 73 ODU 70 with 3:16 remaining. With two minutes left, Haraway made a layup to make the score 76-73. But, ODU's Trent Weaver drilled a pair of free throws to get within one point with 1:39 left. His teammate, Shemar Waugh made a layup with 59 seconds to regain the lead 77-76. Following a missed jumper, Stephen O'Daniel III would foul Waugh, sending him to the line. However, the ODU guard missed both attempts, leaving the Panther lead at just one.  After nearly losing the ball near midcourt, Malone called timeout with four ticks remaining. O'Daniel III shot a three-pointer with one second left, but the potential game-winner missed, giving the Panthers the narrow 77-76 victory.    

Malone went lights out in the second half, shooting an impressive 56.3% (18 of 32) from the field, 70.0% (7 of 10) from three-point range and 66.7% (8 of 12) from the free-throw line. Whereas ODU was just the opposite, shooting 37.0% (10 of 27) from the field and 33.3% (three of nine) from the three-point line.  The Panthers did take advantage of their frequent trips ot the foul line, though, hitting 77.3% (17 of 22) of their free throws in the final 20 minutes.

Haraway paced the Pioneers with 23 points, five assists and four rebounds. In addition, he shot 9-for-13 in field goals and went a perfect 4-for-4 at the three-point line. Teammate O'Daniel III notched 16 points and went 4-for-8 at the three-point line while Sheppard chipped in 11 points and went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Jalen Miller grabbed a team high eight rebounds, while adding eight points.

ODU's Chad Nelson led his team with 26 points, shooting 9-for-10 at the free throw line, 3-for-5 in three-pointers and 7-for-12 in field goals.

Postseason Picture: With Saturday's defeat, Malone slipped to two games behind Walsh University and the University of Findlay, who are currently tied for second in the GLIAC South Division standings with 10-9 conference records.  The eight-team GLIAC Postseason Tournament field will be comprised of the top three teams from the North Division, the top three teams from the South Division, plus the two remaining squads with the best overall GLIAC regular-season records (regardless of division). Click here to view the GLIAC men's basketball standings.

Now with three regular-season games remaining, the Pioneers will next head to Michigan on Thursday, February 19th as they play Wayne State University for the second time this season. Malone won 77-74 during the first meeting earlier this season when Wayne State came to Canton on January 29th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. with live video and stats available.