February 7, 2008

Strong Three-point Shooting Carries Walsh To 81-76 Mayors’ Cup Victory

 
The Malone College men’s basketball team endured an 81-76 loss in the 44th annual Mayors’ Cup game at Walsh University on Thursday as the host Cavaliers sizzled from beyond the arc throughout the evening, draining 13 of their 20 (65%) three-point attempts.  The Pioneers fell behind 38-26 at intermission after missing all seven of their first-half three-point tries, but then opened the second stanza on an 11-2 run that trimmed the Cavaliers lead to 40-37.  This three-point deficit was as close as Malone would get over the remainder of the night, however, as Walsh immediately answered back with 12 unanswered points to push its advantage to 52-37 with 15:05 remaining in the second half.  The Cavaliers then maintained a commanding double-digit advantage until the final minutes of the contest when they held off a late Pioneer surge to record the 81-76 triumph.
 
Walsh, which is ranked third in the most recent NAIA Division II men’s basketball Top 25 national poll, improved its overall record to 20-3 (8-1 AMC South) with the victory while Malone fell to 16-6 (4-1 AMC North).  The loss snapped the Pioneers’ four-game winning streak and ended the squad’s run of 10 straight victories in games played away from Osborne Hall.  The Cavaliers have now won 17 out of the last 19 overall meetings with Malone and eight of the last nine Mayors’ Cup contests.
 
The Pioneers shot 50% (31 of 62) from the field on the night and connected on 10 of their 13 (76.9%) free throws, but struggled from long distance, making just four of their 15 (26.7%) total three-pointers.  Walsh knocked down 25 of 52 (48.1%) field goals, converted on 18 of its 24 (75%) attempts from the charity stripe, and held a slim 33-32 advantage in total rebounds.
 
Senior center Shane Humphrey (Loudonville H.S.) paced Malone with 21 points (9-12 FG, 3-3 FT) and eight boards.  Senior forward Tyler Renner (Garaway H.S.) followed closely with 20 points (8-14 FG, 2-3 3PT FG, 2-5 FT) and six rebounds while senior guard Ben Carver (Shelby H.S.) scored 14 points, pulled down seven boards and dished out three assists.  Other important contributors for the Pioneers included junior forward Jarrod Ferwerda (Lake H.S.), who notched eight points, and junior guard Zach Fanning, (Garaway H.S.) who came off the bench to tally seven points and a team-high four assists.
 
Walsh was led by point guard Brandon Weems, who tossed in a game-high 23 points (7-12 FG, 3-4 3PT FG, 6-10 FT) to go with six assists and five rebounds.  Corey Jones added 19 points, six boards, and three assists for the Cavaliers and Joe Shardo came off the bench to chip in 12 points.
 
NAIA Division II #25 Malone returns to American Mideast Conference North Division play on Saturday when it hosts Point Park (PA) University (13-10 overall, 3-3 AMC North) at 7:30 p.m.  Malone has defeated Point Park twice already this season, winning 99-87 (at Point Park) on January 22nd and 80-67 (at Malone) on December 8th during the Hoops 4 Healing Classic.
 
Pioneer Notes: Shane Humphrey needs just 28 more points to reach 1000 for his Malone career...Walsh now holds a 25-19 advantage in the Mayors’ Cup series and leads the all-time series with Malone 57-39
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