The Malone University men's basketball team won its road contest against Lake Erie College Thursday night by the final score of 86-72.

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athlete Conference (GLIAC) opponent Lake Erie held an early 6-3 lead with 17:49 remaining in the first half. A minute later, Malone's Mitch Spotleson drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 6-6.

During the next two minutes, the Storm went on a 7-2 run, building a 13-8 lead with 14:51 left on the clock. Now it was Malone's turn as Jason Miller made a jump shot at the 14:19 mark to get the Pioneers rolling., Malone would outscore Lake Erie 20-3 during the next six minutes to pull in front 28-16 with 8:20 left in the first. The Storm would answer with a pair of baskets, closing the margin to 28-20., However, the eight-point deficit was as close as Lake Erie would get the rest of the way., The Pioneers closed out the opening stanza on a 19-6 spurt to take a 47-26 advantage into the locker room at intermission.,

Hot shooting keyed the Pioneers' big first half as the visitors knocked down 56.7 percent (17 of 30) of their attempts from the field and 63.6 percent (7 of 11) of their treys over the first 20 minutes.

Starting center Brian Stone made a layup to begin the second half, giving the Pioneers their largest lead of the game at 49-26. Malone would then maintain a double-digit advantage over the remainder of the contest.

On top of their impressive shooting display, Malone also dominated on the glass, enjoying a 42-26 edge in total rebounds.

Stone paced the Pioneers, pouring in a career-high 19 points while grabbing 12 boards. He,shot 7-for-9 on field goals and hit 5-of-6 at the free throw line, recording his second double-double on the season. Stephen O'Daniel III tossed in 15 points. Jason Miller chipped in 13 points and five rebounds, draining five of his seven shot attempts, including all three of his three-pointers., Gus Simmers contributed 10 points.

Andy Bosley led Lake Erie with 17 points while Jamil Dudley recorded 16 points and seven boards.

The Pioneers return home to face conference opponent Ashland University for the second time this season on Saturday, February 7th at 3:00 p.m. Live stats will be available for the game. In addition, the Malone University Athletics Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized during halftime of the contest.