A cold shooting first half turned into a big 2nd half as the MCC Pioneers turned a 4-point halftime lead into a 31-point lead at the 10:00 mark of the 2nd half to cruise to a 81-57 win over the injury riddled Royals. Freshman guard Favour Chukwukelu continued his hot hand with 19 points (7-10 FG, 5-8 3's) to lead 4 Pioneers in double figures. The lone starter to not score in double digits was big man Gedeon Buzangu (6'8 Sophomore) as he dominated on the boards with 20 rebounds and handed out 6 assists to make up for a cold shooting night in the paint. Akeemis Williams (5'9 Sophomore) scored 14 points (5-11 FG, 4-10 3's) and two other Pioneers recorded double-doubles on the night. Deondre Northey (6'0 Freshman) had 11 points and 11 assists while 6'6 Sophomore Issac Abergut scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. 

The Pioneers (7-2, 15-9) dominated on the boards 53-26 in a relatively clean game that saw only 19 combined turnovers. After a 36% shooting effort in the first 20 minutes, the Pioneers hit on 52% of its field goal attempts in the 2nd half including 8-17 from 3-point distance. The Pioneers outscored the Royals 50-30 in the final 20 minutes.  

The Royals (3-6, 9-16)were led by Myles Arnold (6'0 Freshman Guard) with 24 points (10-23 FG, 4-12 3's) and 11 rebounds. Leif Nelson (6'6 Freshman) added 13 points and Beau Feltman (6'7 Freshman) added 10 points. Leading scorer Dion Ford did not play due to illness. 

The Pioneers next game is in Wahpeton, ND on Sunday afternoon.