The Malone University men's basketball team dropped its non-conference contest at Notre Dame (OH) College on Friday evening by a final tally of 77-65.

The Pioneers (3-7 overall) and Falcons (7-3 overall) battled back and forth for a majority of the night in a contest that featured a total of 10 ties and 12 lead changes.  The score was knotted for the final time at the 3:53 mark of the second half when a three-pointer by Malone guard Christian Graves evened things up at 65-65. 

However, the game-tying trey would prove to be the final points of the night for the Pioneers as NDC sealed its fifth straight home victory by outscoring MU 12-0 over the remainder of the contest.

The Falcons had opened up a 31-22 advantage midway through the first half before Malone fought back, trimming the deficit to 38-35 at intermission.  A lay-up by Pioneer guard Jalen Miller gave Malone its largest lead at 60-55 with less than eight minutes to play.  The visitors were unable to pull away, though, as NDC quickly soared back in front and then clamped down on the defensive end in the final minutes to put the game away.

Center Brian Stone came off the bench to tally a team-high 13 points for the Pioneers.  Guard Ben Haraway notched 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks.  Graves recorded 11 points and a pair of steals in his first game back in the line-up since suffering a preseason injury.  Miller also made significant contributions with 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Lawrence DeArmond paced Notre Dame with 27 points and five assists.  Tyree Gaiter added 22 points, four assists and four steals.

Following a break for Christmas, the Pioneers will return to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play on Friday, January 2nd with an 8:00 p.m. home contest against Saginaw Valley State (MI) University.