Box Score

In a game that saw 15 lead changes throughout the contest, the Malone University men's basketball team earned a hard-fought victory at Hillsdale College (MI) on Thursday night to improve to 13-11 overall and to an even 10-10 in GLIAC play. The Chargers, with the loss, fell to 16-8 overall and to 12-8 in the GLIAC.

The first half produced 10 of those lead changes with Hillsdale opening up its largest lead of the period, at 22-17, with 8:49 left. Malone then went on an 8-0 run before settling in for a 31-27 advantage at the intermission.

The Pioneers continued to hold the edge through the first 12-plus minutes of the second stanza before the hosts pulled back on top at 50-49 with 7:06 remaining in the contest. With both teams grabbing the edge over the next six or so minutes, Malone took its final lead with just 21 seconds left as guard Stephen O'Daniel III, after a steal, tossed in a layup to give Malone a 60-59 advantage. Hillsdale still had the chance for victory, though, but missed a layup with nine seconds on the clock and, after an offensive rebound, missed on a jumper with three seconds left. Guard Che Richardson, after being fouled with one second left, split a pair of free throws to secure the 61-59 Malone win.

Forward Cory Veldhuizen paced the Pioneers with a game-high 24 points while also yanking down a team-best (tied) seven rebounds. Richardson followed with 12 points and added three rebounds while forward Zach Bates also hit double digits with 11 points and grabbed a team-high seven boards as well. In addition, guard Christian Graves tossed in eight points and also tallied four rebounds and a team-high four steals.

Tim Dezelski paced the Chargers with 13 points while Brandon Pritzl followed with 11 points. Dezelski also led Hillsdale in rebounds with eight.

Shooting percentages were nearly even with Hillsdale holding a slight edge at 46.2% (24-52) to Malone's 45.5% (25-55). The Chargers netted seven of 20 three-point attempts for 35.0% while the Pioneers sank four of 16 for 25.0%. It was a quiet night at the foul line as neither team attempted more than eight free throws with Malone drilling 7-of-8 for 87.5% and Hillsdale converting 4-of-6 for 66.7%. In addition, the hosts held a slight 31-28 advantage in rebounding.

Malone will be back in action on Saturday as the Pioneers host the University of Findlay (18-6, 15-5 GLIAC) in their 2012-13 home finale in a 1:00 p.m. contest.  Live stats will be available for this contest.