×

AB gets win in G-MAC opener

CANTON, Ohio — After trailing by eight at halftime, the Alderson Broaddus men’s basketball team shot more than 50 percent in the second half in route to a 76-74 victory at Malone University on Thursday evening at Osborne Hall.

“I guess it was just focus,” said Mike Davis on the Battlers’ shooting over the final 20 minutes of play. “We just kept wanting it to go in. We got the ball moving and we started running our plays and we hit open the shots.”

Trailing 69-68 with under two minutes to play, sophomore Malik Bocook took a pass off a a screen from Mike Davis and hit a three to put the Battlers (5-1 overall, 1-0 G-MAC) on top 71-69.

On the ensuing end, the Pioneers couldn’t convert on a pair of opportunities as Anthony Mills grabbed the defensive board for the Battlers and Davis slammed one home on a pass from Chavez Harper to put AB on top by four, 73-69, with 53 seconds left.

After a layup from Djuro Pantos for the Pioneers (5-2, 0-1), Anthony Mills hit one of two from the line to put AB back on top 74-71. With nine seconds left, Mitchell Spotleson missed a three and AB hit a pair at the line from Bocook with four seconds to go to ice the game.

“On the three, Mike kicked me the ball as I just came off the screen, took one dribble, shot it, and it felt good,” said Bocook on the game-winning three-pointer. “Everyone was doing their job and we got a tough win.”

Davis finished with over 20 points for the fourth game in a row as he tallied 25 points, four rebounds, and four assists overall. Bocook had an all-around strong performance as he finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists for the Battlers while Brandon Willis shot 7-of-15 from the field and had 17 points.

“A big shout out to B-Will (Brandon Willis) and Malik (Davis) on hitting the open threes,” said Davis after the win. “We got a rhythm going in the second half. After you see the ball go in the basket, you get a lot more confidence.”

Overall, the Battlers shot 41.4 percent from the field including 51.5 percent over the final 20 minutes in route to the victory. AB finished with just four turnovers overall and shot 7-of-15 from behind the arc in the second half.

Pioneer leading scorer Ty Jordan finished with 32 points and eight rebounds on 10-of-21 shooting from the field while Spotleson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds to record the double-double. Also in double-figures for Malone was Nate Sheppard with 14 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

Malone finished 39.1 percent from the field in the loss and went 14-of-36 from behind the arc which was good for 38.9 percent.

In the opening 20 minutes of play, Malone took the first two-possession lead with 7:08 to play at 23-18. Later in the half, the Pioneers pushed their lead to 32-22 before Anthony Mills hit a three cutting the lead down to seven. With 23 seconds to play in the half, Montaque Wright scored his lone bucket of the game cutting the lead to 35-27 at the half.

In the second half, Malone took its biggest lead of the game, 42-31, with 16:59 to play forcing the Battlers to take a timeout. Following the break, AB responded with an 11-2 run led by a three from Mills and four points from Davis to cut the lead to two. Later in the second half, the Pioneers led by as many as six once more but that was their biggest lead for the rest of the game.

Over the final eight minutes, Malone continued to lead until just under three minutes to play when Davis gave the Battlers a 68-67 lead on a pair of free throws before closing out their fifth win of the season.

Also for the AB offense in Thursday’s victory, Mills finished in double-figures for the first time in his Battler career as he finished 3-of-3 from the field and went 3-of-4 from the line for 11 points and six rebounds. Down the stretch in the second half, AB went 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.

On Saturday, the Battlers continue their road swing when they stay in Canton to take on Walsh University for their second conference game of the season. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.

CANTON, Ohio — The Alderson Broaddus women’s basketball team opened up Great Midwest play with a 62-50 loss at Malone on Thursday night at Osborne Hall.

After falling behind 29-17 at the half, AB (0-2 overall, 0-1 G-MAC) then trailed midway through the third quarter 44-27 before closing the frame on a 13-2 run to trail by just six, 46-40.

In the fourth, the Pioneers (2-1, 1-0) opened the quarter on a 6-0 run to push the lead back to double-digits and led the rest of the way. AB pulled within nine points with four minutes to play but Malone extended the lead back to 12 on a three and held on for the 62-50 win.

Danielle Franklin led the Battler offense with a season-high 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Myriam Garcia chipped in with 13 points down low and added 11 rebounds for her first-career double-double as Jordan Parker also finished in double-figures as the senior closed the game with 10 points and eight boards.

The Battlers shot 32.8 percent from the field while holding the Pioneers to just 31.3 percent overall. Malone out rebounded AB 43-40 and the Battlers finished with 22 points in the paint.

Leading the way for the Pioneers was Chrissie Vaughan with 14 points while Sydney Wentling added 12.

On Saturday, the Battlers will return to the court when they play their second G-MAC contest of the season at Walsh. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today