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The Malone University men's basketball team was unable to overcome a late scoring drought on Saturday afternoon as the Pioneers dropped their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest to Northwood University by a final tally of 85-79.

The two squads battled back and forth during an evenly contested first half that saw seven ties and four lead changes.  The Timberwolves went to the locker room holding a 35-34 advantage and then used a 14-5 scoring run early in the second period to open up a 52-41 lead with 14 and a half minutes remaining in regulation.

Malone quickly responded, using long-distance shooting from forward Mitchell Spotleson, guard Stephen O'Daniel III and guard Nate Sheppard to fight all the way back.  The Pioneers cut the deficit to one on an O'Daniel III three-pointer with 9:42 to go.  A pair of free throws by Sheppard on Malone's next trip down the floor gave the Pioneers their first lead of the second half at 61-60.

The two teams would trade baskets over the next few minutes before a bucket by forward Neil Gingerich put Malone in front 69-68 with a little more than seven minutes to play.  Unfortunately for the hosts, this one-point edge would prove to be the Pioneers' final lead of the afternoon.   Malone was held scoreless over the next five and half minutes of the contest, allowing Northwood to build a commanding 78-69 lead.

A three-pointer by O'Daniel III with 90 seconds showing on the clock brought the scoring drought to an end and sparked a late Malone comeback attempt.  The Pioneers trimmed Northwood's advantage to 83-79 on a three-pointer by guard Christian Graves with 12 ticks remaining, but the Timberwolves' Jermaine Myers sank both of his free throws with nine seconds left to secure the six-point victory.

Malone Individual Highlights
-Sheppard posted a team-high 22 points off the bench after hitting eight of 14 field goals, including four of eight three-pointers
-O'Daniel III tallied 15 points and three assists
-Graves added 14 points
-Spotleson contributed nine points, four assists and three steals
-Center Brian Stone grabbed a team-high eight boards
-Gingerich posted five points, four rebounds and three blocks
 
Northwood Individual Highlights
-Guard Maurice Jones paced the Timberwolves with 23 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists
-Guard Dylan Langkabel tossed in 12 points
-Myers posted 11 points, eight boards and four assists
 
Game Notes
-The Timberwolves struggled from deep, hitting only three of 19 three-pointers
-Malone matched its previous season high by hitting 13 treys (13 of 31)
-Northwood scored 56 of its 85 points in the paint
-The Timberwolves held a 45-31 advantage on the boards, including a 17-9 edge on the offensive glass

Up Next: The Pioneers will host a non-conference contest against Lewis University on Saturday, December 19th at 3:00 p.m.