Men's Basketball | 1/31/2010 12:00:00 AM
Box Score McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men’s basketball team continued its successful season by improving to 10-2 in conference play with a 91-65 win against Tabor College on Saturday night at the McPherson Sport Center.
“I thought we got off to a great start then just played in spurts,” said McPherson head coach Tim Swartzendruber. “I was pleased with how we finished the game. We did a nice job attaching their changing defense and shot well against the zone. Antowine, Dwayne and Mason did a nice job defending in the post. Overall I was pleased with our defensive effort.”
McPherson improved to 17-4 on the season with the win, while Tabor slipped to 7-14 on the year and 4-8 in KCAC play.
Freshman guard Kasey Miller posted a career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc off the bench to lead four Bulldogs in double figures.
Senior guard Marlon Dominique added 14 points, a pair of assists and five steals to lead the Bulldog defense. Senior forward Antowine Lamb added 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to post his third double double of the season, while sophomore guard Aaron Frazier chipped in 10 points and a team leading six rebounds in just his second start of the season. Senior Patrick Nemechek and sophomore Michael Darden played big roles off the bench, each contributing nine points.
McPherson hit better than 60 percent from the field (32-of-53) for the first time this season, while outrebounding the Bluejays 45-36. McPherson also hit on a season-high 63.6 percent of three-pointers (7-of-11). Despite their offensive success, the Bulldogs turned the ball over 18 times.
Cody Arnold led the Bluejays with 23 points, while Daniel Hann pitched in 12 points and seven rebounds. TC star Damon Dechant managed just 10 points and seven rebounds as he found himself in foul trouble most of the evening.
TC hit 38.8 percent of its shots from the field, including 6-of-28 three-pointers, while hitting only 7-of-17 free throws.
McPherson blew open the first half with a 26-10 run to start the game. Miller pushed the lead out to a half-high 19 points on a three-pointer just two minutes later to give MC a 31-12 lead. Tabor used free throws to pull the deficit back to 11, but Miller answered once again with another three-point basket giving MC a 40-25 lead after the first 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs continued to control the tempo in the second half. Tabor got within 12, 65-53 behind a set of Cody Arnold three-pointers, but McPherson answered the call once again as Dominique converted a runner in the paint and two free throws to push the lead back to 16, 69-53 with 7:25 left in the game. McPherson continued to be too strong down the stretch.
McPherson remains at home this week, as the Bulldogs host Bethany College on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. inside the McPherson Sport Center.
