COLUMBUS, Ohio – A balanced scoring effort featuring seven players with nine-plus points was not enough for the Ohio Dominican men's basketball team Thursday evening, falling at home to Malone in Great Midwest action, 75-70.

The Panthers, who played their first home game since Dec. 4, fall to 4-10 overall and 2-5 in G-MAC play. Malone entered the game tied for second in the G-MAC standings and improves to 11-4 overall and 6-2 in league action.

Registering his second career double-double and second of the winter was Alek West (Sylvania, Ohio), finishing with 10 points and a career-best 12 assists. His 12 helpers ties a single game program record, set by Mike Bell in 1994 and 1996. His performance Thursday is the highest assist total in ODU's NCAA Division II era (started 2010-11).

ODU was led in scoring by Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Szul also tallied three rebounds, three assists and a career-high four steals. Max Stepaniak (Ross, Ohio) added 10 points, eight of which came in the second half.

Playing in just his second game since the start of December, Arius Jones (Lansing, Mich.) produced nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. Matt Hall (Evanston, Ill.) led ODU with nine rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench, and scored six of his nine points in the second half. Mitch Wilkinson (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Kayin Derden (Columbus, Ohio) also pitched in nine points each.

Ohio Dominican erased an early 7-2 deficit due to its efforts on the offensive glass. The Panthers tallied six offensive rebounds in the first six minutes, leading to five second chance points and a 14-10 advantage.

After the 12-3 spurt gave ODU its largest lead of the game, the two sides played the remainder of the first half within an eight point window, as neither team led by more than four points. Malone shot over 53 percent in the first half and led at the break, 36-33.

A tightly contested second half saw the Panthers recapture the lead, 49-47, after a jumper from West at the 12:01 mark. Malone answered though, keeping ODU scoreless for over two minutes, and secured a 55-49 edge with just over 10 minutes to play.

The Black & Gold responded with an 8-0 run over a three-minute stretch, taking a 63-61 lead with 4:04 to play. Hall gave the Panthers the two-point advantage and again placed ODU on top, 65-64, with another layup at the 2:32 mark.  

Despite late baskets from Szul and Stepaniak, Malone netted 9-of-11 free throws in the final 2:30 of play to secure the 75-70 victory.

The Pioneers finished 28-for-55 from the field, a .509 shooting clip. ODU shot 45.5 percent, making 30-of-66 field goal attempts. The two sides combined for 78 paint points.

The Panthers will look to regroup when they travel to face GMAC-leading Walsh at 3 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 15.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu