Men's Basketball | 12/1/2010 3:09:50 PM
Game 11: McPherson College (6-4, 0-0) vs Kansas Wesleyan University (3-5, 0-0)
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010 | McPherson, Kan. | McPherson College Sport Center
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
The McPherson College men’s basketball team returns home to the McPherson Sport Center this Thursday, Dec. 2, as the Bulldogs take on Kansas Wesleyan University to open Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) action.
Start time for the game between the Bulldogs and Coyotes is set for 8:00 p.m. (CST). A broadcast of the game featuring Nick Gosnell (play-by-play) will be provided by 96.7 FM KBBE MidKansas Radio with an audio stream available a www.macbulldogs.com.
Thursday’s game is the first of four KCAC matchups prior to the Christmas holiday. Other games include a pair of road contests at Ottawa University and Friends University and a home matchup with Bethel College.
McPherson enters action on a two-game winless streak and 6-4 record following a pair of weekend losses at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Thanksgiving Classic. The Bulldogs opened the weekend with a defeat by host UW-Platteville (70-56), then fell on day two against St. Olaf College (66-54). MC struggled offensively, shooting just 32.8 percent (38-of-116) from the field and 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from the foul line. Despite the losses, junior guard
Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) put together a strong performance to earn a position on the all-tournament squad. Frazier averaged 13.5 points, including an 18-point effort against UW-Plateville, 5.5 rebounds and two assists.
Junior guard
Aaron Jackson (Junction City, Kan.) has been a spark for the Bulldogs up to this point. Jackson, a transfer from Allen County Community College, averages a team-best 15.5 points per game on 59-of-118 (50.0 percent) shooting from the field. Jackson’s best scoring performance to date came in a 24-point effort against the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The Junction City, Kan. native connected on 9-of-13 field goals, including a 3-of-5 effort from beyond the arc. Jackson has scored in double figures in eight of McPherson’s ten games.
Kansas Wesleyan (3-5) comes to McPherson riding a two game losing streak following a 77-76 loss against York College (Neb.). In that game, four Coyotes recorded double-figures led by Jerome Cheadle and Trevor Kuhlman who finished the night with 17 points apiece. KWU, who split the season series with the Bulldogs a year ago, wrap up a three game road trip with Thursday’s game. The Coyotes are currently 1-4 on the road this season.
Scouting Kansas Wesleyan
Kansas Wesleyan (3-5) comes to McPherson riding a two game losing streak following a 77-76 loss against York College (Neb.). In that game, four Coyotes recorded double-figures led by Jerome Cheadle and Trevor Kuhlman who finished the night with 17 points apiece. KWU, who split the season series with the Bulldogs a year ago, wrap up a three game road trip with Thursday’s game. The Coyotes are currently 1-4 on the road this season.
Senior guard Matt Dickman, who led the Coyotes with 12.8 points per game a year ago, leads the Coyote offensive attack averaging 19.8 points per game. On the season, Dickman has connected on 44.0 percent (51-of-116) of attempts from the field, while converting 43-of-53 (81.1 percent) of his trips to the foul line. The Tucson, Ariz. native set a season-high with 35 points against Peru State on Nov. 12.
As a team, KWU is being outscored by its opponents 553 to 582, but holds a slight edge in rebounding, 298-276. Entering Thursday, the Coyotes are shooting 40.5 percent (183-of-452) from the field.
Following McPherson, the Coyotes return home for a pair of KCAC contests against Southwestern College and Tabor College.
In their last meeting...
McPherson opened the game on a 13-7 run, including seven points from senior guard Mike Reece. However, the Bulldogs could not sustain the momentum, as Kansas Wesleyan guard Matthew Dickman put the teams on his shoulders, scoring 10 points in the Coyotes 15-4 run to end the half. During the KWU streak, the Bulldogs were held without a field goal for nearly three minutes. Kansas Wesleyan entered the locker room up, 34-26.
In the first half, the Bulldogs shot a near season worst 29.6 (8-of-27) percent from the field, while the Coyotes connected on 41.4 (12-of-29) percent, including 57.1 (6-of-11) percent from beyond the three point arc. Reece led all McPherson scorers with seven points, while KWU’s Dickman lit up the scoreboard with 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field, including converting on 3-of-3 attempts from three-point range.
Kansas Wesleyan opened the second half just as they ended the first, with a 7-2 run to push their lead out to 41-28. The Bulldogs capitalized on a Marlon Dominique jumper and a pair of Mike Reece free throws to narrow the gap to seven, 43-36.
However, the zone defense and consistent shooting of the Coyotes stopped the McPherson run in its tracks. KWU broke the game wide open with a 21-5 run spanning nearly 10 minutes to take a 67-41 lead at the 3:36 mark in the second half. The run was capped by a Willie McCarty layup through traffic.
McPherson would end the game on a 6-2 mini-run, led by four points from forward Antowine Lamb, but the deficit was too much for the Bulldogs.
