The Outlook

Lindenwood didn’t make it easy on the Blue Knights.  The visitors opened the game on a 16-5 run.  The Lions were still leading by nine at the half when the Blue Knights made their charge.  A 14-4 spurt in the second half’s first six minutes gave Urbana its first lead since 3-2.  Back-to-back treys by Jackie Cousineau and DeVonyea Johnson gave the home team a 6-point advantage with 12 minutes to play, and the Lions never got within 4 the rest of the night.

During the second half comeback, Urbana shot 45% from the floor and from behind the three-point arc.  Lindenwood out-rebounded the Blue Knights 26-14 in the first half, but Urbana responded in the second frame.  Urbana pulled down four more boards than their opponents over the final 20 minutes.  

Junior Jessica Saffold was responsible for much of the turnaround.  The 5-9 forward had 9 rebounds in the second half, finishing with a game-high 21 points,12 boards and 6 steals.  Johnson, the reigning Blue Knight Student-Athlete of the Week tallied 17 to go with 6 assists and 4 steals in the win. Freshman Ciara Geiger added 11 points and 6 boards.

The win is Urbana’s fifth straight overall and fifth straight at home.  It’s the program’s first 5-game winning streak since 2009.  The Blue Knights improve to 7-3 since new head coach Maria Marchesano assumed control at the start of the new year.  Marchesano’s squad will try to make it 6 straight at home on Tuesday night against fellow D-II Independent Malone University.  Urbana is 5-3 with 4 straight wins vs. the D-II Ohio Independents.  Their last loss came in the final seconds at Malone on January 17th.  Tuesday’s tip is set for 7:00 p.m.

UU Stumbles Against Malone on Senior Day
URBANA, Ohio (February 4, 2012) – The Malone University men’s basketball team picked up an 89-73 road victory on Saturday afternoon in its match-up with NCAA Division II Urbana University.  The Pioneers held a 36-33 advantage at halftime and then out-scored the host Blue Knights 53-40 over the final 20 minutes.  Malone improved to 10-12 overall with the win while Urbana slipped to 5-14.   

The Pioneers jumped out to a 27-14 lead just over 10 minutes into Saturday’s contest.  The Blue Knights fought back with a 19-9 surge over the remainder of the first half and then knotted the score at 38-38 and 40-40 in the early stages of the second stanza.  However, Urbana was unable to pull ahead before Malone took control of the contest with an 11-1 scoring run.

After being limited to 34.4% (11 of 32) shooting in the opening period, the Pioneer offense found its rhythm following intermission as the visitors knocked down 18 of their 33 (54.5%) second-half shot attempts to conclude the afternoon with an overall shooting percentage of 44.6% (29 of 65).  Malone hit five of its 17 (29.4%) three-point attempts in the contest and 26 of its 31 (83.9%) free throws.

Overall, Urbana connected on 41.3% (26 of 63) of its shots from the field, four of its 15 (26.7%) three-pointers and just 17 of its 31 (54.8%) foul shots.  In addition to its shooting advantage, Malone also enjoyed a 45-41 edge in total rebounds and out-scored the Blue Knights by a 27-8 margin in bench points.

Malone’s Eric Coblentz led the way, racking up a total of 27 points for the second straight game.  Following a 27-point showing in Thursday’s home win over Central State University, Coblentz matched that offensive output in Saturday’s victory.  The senior from Hartville, Ohio sank all 10 of his free throws and seven of 14 shots from the floor, including three of six attempts from beyond the arc.

Forward Cory Veldhuizen came off the bench to notch his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds.  Guard Isiah Elliott added 17 points, eight assists and three steals.  Forward Che Richardson also made substantial contributions with 12 points, 10 boards and three blocked shots.

Senior Dyrell Dolson paced Urbana with 23 points on 10 of 12 shooting.  Senior Sharif Muhammad Jr. added 11 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists for the Blue Knights.  Senior Marcus Pearl and sophomore Josh Brown both poured in 11 as well.  Pearl dished out 6 assists and Brown pulled down 6 boards.  The Blue Knights’ fourth and final senior, forward Stefon Perry, finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds.

Next, Urbana battles another D-II Ohio Independent when the team travels to area rival Central State on Wednesday night.  It’s the first of two meetings in six days between the squads.  Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. in CSU’s Beacom-Lewis Gymnasium.