Men's Basketball | 12/11/2010 11:15:41 PM
Box Score Box Score
Wichita, Kan. – The Bulldogs held the Falcons to just two field goals in the final 11:50, as the McPherson College men’s basketball team edged Friends University, 59-57, Saturday evening at the Garvey Center in Wichita, Kan. The win is the first for McPherson in conference play this season.
With the win, McPherson improves to 7-7 overall and 1-3 in KCAC play, while the Falcons fall to 4-9 and 1-3 in league action.
"It was nice to bounce back with a win at Friends after a disappointing loss Thursday night," said McPherson head coach Tim Swartzendruber. "I thought we played tremendous defense in the second half, while continuing to improve our rebounding. It was nice to get a conference win against a good Friends team going into the break."
The MC defense held a solid Falcon offense to just 22.2 percent (6-of-27) shooting the final period, as the Bulldogs took a one point, 45-44, lead with 11:50 remaining in the game on an Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) layup off a Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) pass through traffic. The play seemed the lift the struggling Bulldogs.
Shivers finished the evening as the lone Bulldog in double-figures with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including four three-pointers. Forwards Jake Reinhardt (Walton, Kan.) and Mason Hewitt (Norwich, Kan.) led MC with six rebounds apiece, while Trent Severs matched his season average with four assists.
Shivers connected on a three-pointer with 6:19 left to lift the Bulldogs to its largest lead, 55-47. However, Friends battled back behind four consecutive Chris Jackson free throws to cut the deficit to 57-53 with just 3:39 remaining. Despite the late push, McPherson’s defense was too strong down the stretch to earn the win.
As a team, the Bulldogs finished the night shooting 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the field, while holding the Falcons to just 29.4 percent (20-of-68), 15.9 percent below their season average. McPherson outscored Friends, 24-12, from beyond the three-point arc.
Friends was led in scoring by Jackson, who finished the night with 14 points.
McPherson returns to action next Saturday when they travel to NCAA division II Newman University. The exhibition between the Bulldogs and the Jets is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MC returns to regular season action on January 3.
