It has been a bit of a roller coaster season for the Pioneers with four straight losses to begin the year. But starting in mid-January, Malone reeled off seven wins in eight games and are currently sporting a four-game win streak with three important contest this week, including the Mayor’s Cup vs. rival Walsh.
Now Malone is in position to host a first-round quarterfinal game next Tuesday and secure one of the top seeds in the conference tournament. The Pioneers were road warriors last week with wins away from Canton against Ohio Valley and Cedarville. They also earned a home win in the middle of the week against Tiffin.
Ernst, one of the league’s most dynamic two-players, was the catalyst of consistency with three straight double-doubles as he averaged over 20 points and pulled 12 rebounds per game. He also shot almost 65 percent from the field.
Malone matched its season high point total with 101 points against Ohio Valley as the team hit the century mark in scoring for the third time this year. It was hard to ask much more of the senior forward as he shared the team lead with 21 points and collected 11 boards. He was 9-of-11 from the field and added an assist and one block.
The Pioneers overcame a slight halftime deficit to grind out a tough win against Tiffin. Ernst again was near-perfect on shot attempts missing just four of his 12 taken and added eight more points at the free throw line. Ernst finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and swatted five shots, which equaled the league’s best single game total this year with Cedarville’s Kollin Van Horn.
Malone’s win against Cedarville was icing on the cake for the perfect week as Ernst was one of five players to score in double figures. This time he had 16 points, 11 rebounds and handed out three assists.
Ernst is one of three the league’s top-10 scoring leaders from head coach Casey Kaufman’s program (Bo Myers, Bryce Butler). He has taken over as the league leader in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and is third in field goal percentage (62.0).