Men's Basketball | 12/6/2009 12:00:00 AM
Box Score McPherson, Kan. – Four Bulldogs finished in double figures as the McPherson College men’s basketball team won their second straight, 69-56, against Ottawa University Saturday night at the McPherson Sport Center. The win improves the Bulldogs to 8-2 and 2-0 in conference action, while the Braves drop to 0-2 and 2-9 in KCAC play.
“It’s great to get off to a 2-0 start in conference,” said McPherson coach Tim Swartzendruber. “I thought we had some good stretches tonight. Charles Moore came off the bench and really sparked us. I was also pleased with the floor leadership of Marlon Dominique and Mike Reece, and the toughness of Dwayne Thomas.”
Senior guard Mike Reece paced the Bulldog offense with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field. Reece hit 7-of-8 free throws, including two midway through the second half to end the OU run.
Charles Moore II added 13, while senior forward Dwayne Thomas finished the night with his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Thomas added a team-high three steals in the effort.
As a team, McPherson connected on 24-of-60 (40.0 percent) from the field, including 3-of-9 from beyond the three point arch. The Bulldogs forced the Braves into 20 personal fouls that turned into 18 McPherson points as the Bulldogs connected on 18-of-29 trips to the foul stripe. The McPherson defense frustrated the Ottawa offense into a game-high 20 turnovers. The Bulldogs converted the Ottawa mistakes into 26 points.
The two sides remained deadlocked, 14-14 at the 13:51 mark before the Bulldogs rattled off 11 straight points to take a 25-14 lead. The run was highlighted by an Aaron Frazier blocked shot that turned into an easy jumper for Reece.
Ottawa cut the McPherson lead to nine on a Garrett Smith jumper to end the first half. The Bulldogs entered the locker room with a 34-25 lead.
The Braves came out hot to start the second half cutting the MC lead to five, 36-31 with 17:08. But once again, MC answered the Ottawa attack by pushing their lead back to double digits, 45-35 with 13:04 left in the game.
McPherson would continue to frustrate the Braves offense, while converting their opportunities on the offensive end to build a 17-point lead with 2:16 remaining. OU chipped away at the McPherson lead, but the Bulldogs proved too much down the stretch.
Issac Johnston led the Braves offense with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the three-point arch.
The Bulldogs return to action Thursday, Dec. 10, as they travel to Hillsboro to take on the Tabor College Blue Jays. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. at the Tabor College Student Center.
