CANTON, Ohio -- The Ohio Dominican men's basketball team received 20-plus points from Alek West (Sylvania, Ohio) and Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) and shot over 54 percent in the second half, but could not overcome a slow start in an 89-80 road loss to Malone in the season finale Saturday afternoon.

West and Szul combined for 22 points in the second half alone, a period that the Panthers outscored Malone in, 47-43. Ohio Dominican made 17-of-31 shots in the second half, including a 7-for-9 effort from three-point range. 

West concluded the game with a team-high 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting. The guard also paced the Panthers with six rebounds and tied Arius Jones (Lansing, Mich.) for the team high in assists with four. Jones, who scored a career-high 18 points earlier in the week versus Walsh, posted 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting in his encore performance. 

Szul finished the game 9-of-14 from the field for 21 points. The sophomore pitched in three rebounds and two assists as well. The fourth Panther in double figures was Nate Webb (Lafayette, Ind.), who made four triples in the second half to close out the contest with 15 total points. 

ODU scored the first basket of the game, but conceded 15 of the next 17 points to trail 15-4 just five minutes into play. The Panthers quickly closed the deficit to three points, but another Pioneer scoring run eventually led to Malone enjoying a 46-33 advantage at the intermission. The Pioneers (18-9, 13-7 G-MAC) shot 63 percent in the first half, making 17-of-27 field goal attempts. 

Malone never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 27 points near the 13 minute mark. The Panthers though, continued to claw in the second half, using their sharp shooting from behind the arc to close the gap to single digits, 81-72, with 2:28 to play. 

The Pioneers held off the late run however, making 8-of-9 free throws in the final 2:28 to win by nine points, 89-80. West led the Panthers late, scoring nine of the team's final 11 points. 

Ohio Dominican has now concluded its 2021-22 season. The Panthers finish the winter with a 7-21 overall record, including a 4-16 mark in G-MAC play.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu