Men's Basketball | 12/4/2009 12:00:00 AM
Box Score McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men’s basketball team connected on 28-of-32 trips to the free throw line, while forcing the Coyotes into 18 turnovers en route to a 64-52 victory over Kansas Wesleyan University Thursday night at the McPherson Sport Center. Prior to tonight, the Bulldogs had lost eight straight regular season games against KWU.
With the win McPherson improves to 7-2 and 1-0 in KCAC play, while Kansas Wesleyan drops to 3-6 and 0-1 in conference action.
Senior forward Marlon Dominique paced the McPherson offense with 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including 1-of-2 from beyond the three-point arch. Dominique finished the night a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe, including two free throws with 0:23 left in the second half to seal the McPherson victory.
Despite shooting 25.0 percent from the field in the first half, McPherson finished the night shooting 39.5 percent from the floor, including 57.9 percent in the second half. McPherson used the Coyotes aggressive play against them, connecting on a season-high 87.5 percent (28-of-32) from the free throw line. McPherson held a slight edge in rebounding, 40-32, but turned the ball over 24 times which the Coyotes converted into 21 points.
The McPherson defense held the Coyotes to 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the field, including 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from beyond the three-point stripe. Matthew Dickman led the KWU offense with 15 points and six rebounds. Joe Harvey chipped in 10 points off the bench, respectively.
It was a hardnosed physical game from the beginning, as both teams made it difficult to score points. McPherson clung to an 11-4 lead with 13:56 left in the half. KWU converted two transition baskets to bring the McPherson lead back to three, but the Bulldogs would pull back out to seven behind two Dominique free throws and a put back by Mike Reece.
The Bulldogs struggled to find the basket, hitting just 6-of-24 shot. However, MC connected on 10-of-12 free throws to lead 23-14 at halftime.
The Coyotes opened the second half with two-straight three-point buckets to pull the MC lead back to three, 23-20. However, MC responded after a time out with a 12-2 run to go ahead by 13, 35-22, with 16:21 left in the game. Dominique scored six points during the McPherson run.
KWU’s Matthew Jarrett ended the Bulldog run with a pair of free throws to cut the lead back to single digits, 35-26. But McPherson countered again as Patrick Nemechek connected on his only basket of the game, a three-pointer off a fast-break to push the Bulldog lead back to 10 points.
Both sides traded baskets down the stretch, but it was McPherson free throws that sealed the 64-52 victory. MC connected on 90 percent of their free throw attempts in the second half.
The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, Dec. 5, against Ottawa University. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the McPherson Sport Center.
