Simon Blair helps Malone men's basketball team avenge bitter defeat, win Mayors' Cup

NORTH CANTON — This was another golden opportunity the Malone men's basketball team didn't want to waste.

Five weeks after the bitterest of defeats, the Pioneers experienced the sweet taste of success against their rival.

Malone knocked Walsh out of first place in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with a 67-57 win in Saturday's Mayors' Cup. The Pioneers still have an uphill battle in their quest for a G-MAC Tournament. If they don't make it, this will be the closest thing to a postseason win.

The Pioneers avenged last month's overtime loss to the Cavaliers on their home court. It was a game Malone led by 16 at one point.

Having won three straight, it appears nights like that are behind the Pioneers (13-12, 6-11).

"We've had a lot of close games we really couldn't close out this year," Malone senior guard Simon Blair said. "I'm happy to see us actually learn from our mistakes, build off those games and close out the last couple of games we played."

You couldn't blame Blair one bit if he had extra motivation for the rematch with Walsh. He scored a career-high 35 points on 15 of 23 shooting in the first game.

Blair didn't need 35 to push Malone over the top this time. A big finish was more than enough. Blair scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half, including the Pioneers' final 10.

"I think he's the best point guard in the conference," Malone first-year head coach Charlie Wallrapp said. "The second half we got the switches we wanted to, let him attack and spread the floor. He hit some big time shots down the stretch and finished the game off."

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Any Walsh run in the second half was quashed by a Blair run. He scored seven straight points after the Cavaliers cut a 10-point Malone lead to two. When Walsh sliced a 12-point deficit to five, Blair responded with a driving layup high off the glass. That started his 10-point run to end the game.

The humble Blair analyzed the big picture afterward. Aaron Badibo's 15 points and eight rebounds were also huge for him. So were the trio of 3s Carter Piatt and Jake Bruns each hit.

"My teammates picked me up, especially in the first half," Blair said. "They hit some really big shots.

"It was a really good team win for us. It was not just me. A lot of our guys stepped up at big points in the game and made a lot of big plays."

The Pioneers' three-game winning streak is their longest since late December. With three games remaining, Malone will likely have to win them all to make G-MAC Tournament.

"We know we have to be perfect down the stretch to have a shot at the conference tournament," Wallrapp said. "There has been a desperation and a focus for us the last few weeks which has been really good. I'm excited for our guys."

Garrison Keeslar scored 22 points and Zack Oddo finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Cavs (17-5, 11-5), who fell one game behind first-place Kentucky Wesleyan in the G-MAC race. They couldn't ride the momentum from Thursday's emotional win at Ashland. Oddo hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left to win it.

"We had won 15 of 16, so it's not a matter of effort or anything like that," Walsh head coach Jeff Young said. "It just wasn't our day. We missed a lot of shots at the rim, and they had about everybody shoot 50%.

"I give them credit. They played well. We didn't play as well as I hoped we would."

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com

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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Simon Blair closes out Malone men's basketball win over Walsh