Men's Basketball | 2/5/2010 12:00:00 AM
Box Score McPherson, Kan. – In a game that was tied 72-72 with 1:30 remaining, the McPherson College men’s basketball team came up just short in a 73-72 loss to inter-county rival Bethany College Thursday night at the McPherson Sport Center.
With both teams in the double bonus, Bethany guard Rodd Williams on a rebound attempt off a Marlon Dominique field goal. The 5-11 senior connected on one of two attempts, giving McPherson a chance to win with 8.2 seconds left. Dominique broke the Swedes press, before finding Aaron Frazier with a fade away three as time expired. Frazier’s three-pointer fell just short as the buzzer sounded.
With the loss, McPherson drops to 17-4 overall and 10-3 in league play, while the Swedes improve to 12-11 and 8-5 in KCAC action.
Senior forward Antowine Lamb led MC with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his second straight double double (fourth on the season). Fellow senior Mike Reece added 16 points and four assists, while sophomore Aaron Frazier had 14 and senior Dwayne Thomas chipped in 11.
McPherson shot 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the field, including 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from beyond the three-point line. Despite the consistent shooting from the field, the Bulldogs struggled from the foul line converting only 15-of-30 (50.0 percent) of attempts.
Similarly to McPherson, Bethany ended the night 25-of-61 (41.0 percent) from the field and 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from three-point range. But the Swedes were 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the foul line, including 13-of-16 (81.3 percent) in the second half. Junior forward Vincent Ferguson led five Swedes in double figures with 18 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds and one blocked shot.
The game started slow as the teams combined for only 16 points over the first six minutes. An 11-0 McPherson run, capped by a Mike Reece layup off a feed from Dominique gave the Bulldogs at 18-9 lead with 10 minutes left in the half. Bethany charged back with a 9-0 run of their own to cut the Bulldog lead to one 18-17, but two straight points by Lamb and a three from freshman Kasey Miller pushed the MC lead back to five, 27-22 with five minutes remaining.
BC missed four of their last five field goal attempts as McPherson entered halftime with a 37-30 lead. MC converted 59.3 percent from the field in the first half, but converted only 2-of-7 trips to the foul line to allow Bethany to stay close.
Out of the break, Lamb scored three of McPherson’s first four baskets to give the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead of the night, 45-34 with 16:31 remaining.
MC maintained the double-digit advantage until BC rattled off an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to four, 59-55 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Bethany tied the game, 70-70 with 2:24 remaining, before using free throws to overcome the McPherson attack. The Swedes outscored McPherson 24-16 over the final 12 minutes of the game.
McPherson hits the road to take on Southwestern Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. inside Stewart Field House.
