Box Score

The Malone University men's basketball team built a 36-22 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a lopsided 72-41 triumph at Ohio Dominican University on Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers improved to 13-10 overall and 11-8 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with the victory while also stretching their winning streak to four games, their longest string of consecutive victories this  season.  The Panthers' record, meanwhile, slipped to 5-18 overall and 3-16 in conference games.

After falling behind 10-2 in the early going, Ohio Dominican fought back, pulling to within 20-16 on a three-pointer with six and half minutes remaining in the opening period.  However, it was all Malone from that point on as the Pioneers closed the frame on a 16-6 run to take a 36-22 lead into intermission and then stretched their advantage to as many as 36 after holding Ohio Dominican without a made field goal over the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Guard Isiah Elliott led the way for Malone, netting 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists in just 27 minutes of action.  The senior connected on seven of his 11 field goals, one of his two treys and two of three free throws.  Forward Che Richardson and center Brian Stone each added 10 points and four rebounds.  Guard Christian Graves tossed in nine points while forward Cory Veldhuizen contributed six points, eight boards and four assists.

Forward Trent Weaver paced the Panthers with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Malone knocked down 27 of its 60 (45%) overall shots from the field, including eight of 21 (38.1%) attempts from beyond the three-point arc.  The Pioneers also hit 10 of 11 (90.9%) free throws, held a 40-28 advantage in total rebounds and committed just six turnovers.

The Panthers struggled to get on track offensively as the 41 points marked the lowest scoring total Malone had allowed since limiting OSU-Mansfield to 28 in the 2010-11 season opener.   On the afternoon, ODU connected on 16 of 48 (33.3%) field goals, three of 16 (18.8%) treys and six of nine (66.7%) foul shots.

With three regular-season games remaining following Saturday's win, the Pioneers held on to the No. 8 position in the overall GLIAC standings, now two games ahead of ninth-place Wayne State (MI) University.  The Top 8 teams qualify for the GLIAC Postseason Tournament at the end of the regular season.

Malone will return to action on Thursday with a critical 8:00 p.m. contest at home against Hillsdale (MI) College.  The Chargers are currently sixth in the overall conference standings, holding a one-game lead over the Pioneers with a 12-7 GLIAC record.  The first meeting between the two squads this year was held January 30, a game Hillsdale won at home by an 86-71 final.  Live streaming video and stats will be provided during Thursday's rematch.  Click here for links to each.