Men's Basketball | 11/3/2010 2:28:05 AM
Box Score Box Score
Lawrence, Kan. – Junior forward Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) poured in a game-high 19 points to help lead the McPherson College men’s basketball team to a 76-59 season opening victory over Haskell Indian Nations Tuesday night at Haskell Gymnasium.
"I thought our bench and overall defense were the keys to the game," said McPherson head coach Tim Swartzendruber. "We need to continue to clean up many things on both sides of the ball, but I was pleased with our effort. I think we have a chance to be a good team by the end of the year if we keep improving."
The win puts McPherson at 1-0 on the season, while the Fighting Indians drop to 0-1.
Crawford had a solid all-around game for McPherson, as he connected on 4-of-7 field goals and 9-of-10 free throw attempts en route to his 19 points. In addition to scoring, Crawford registered a team-leading seven rebounds, two assists and four steals. Junior guard Aaron Jackson (Junction City, Kan.) and freshman Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) were the only other Bulldogs in double figures with 15 and 10 points respectively.
McPherson found themselves trailing 16-15 midway through the first half before a stretch of four consecutive free throws from Crawford and Shivers propelled MC to 17-16 lead. The Bulldogs would continue to control the tempo, as another pair of Crawford free throws extended their lead to five points, 26-21 with a little less than three minutes remaining in the half.
Haskell would bring the lead within one, but another MC run centered around trips to the foul line extended their lead to six, 36-30 at the half.
The Bulldogs finished the first half shooting 37.0 percent from the field.
MC would use trips to the foul stripe along with timely shooting to extend its advantage to 15, 61-46 midway through the second half. The Bulldogs would allow Haskell to get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
As a team, McPherson ended the night shooting 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field and 65.7 percent (23-of-35) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs defense tallied 15 steals and forced 26 Haskell turnovers.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Friday when they host Johnson & Wales University. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at the McPherson College Sport Center.
