Men's Basketball | 1/28/2011 2:30:47 PM
Game 23: McPherson College (11-11, 5-6 KCAC) at Bethel College (6-15, 5-6 KCAC)
Saturday, January 29, 2011 | 7:00 p.m. | Thresher Gymnasium | North Newton, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
The Matchup
The Bulldogs travel to North Newton Saturday evening to take on the Bethel College Threshers, as the McPherson College men’s basketball team looks to extend its current three game win streak. Tipoff for the contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside Threshers Gymnasium.
Unfortunately for Bulldog fans, Saturday’s game will not be carried on 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio due to a programming conflict. Fans can follow www.macbulldogs.com, Facebook and Twitter for updates.
The Bulldogs (11-11, 5-6 KCAC) continue to make a push in the conference standings following an 81-48 win against Ottawa University on Thursday night. The 33-point margin is the largest of the season for McPherson and gives MC three straight wins.
Against Ottawa, McPherson trailed early, but utilized a 16-4 run midway through the period to take the lead, 25-18. Both sides traded baskets the rest of the period as MC went into the intermission with a 33-24 advantage. The Bulldogs then exploded offensively in the second period, scoring 48 points and shooting 61.1 percent from the floor.
Sophomore forward
Mason Hewitt (Norwich, Kan.) and junior forward
Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) were key reasons why MC had its success. Hewitt came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting, while Crawford recorded his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Outside of scoring, senior guard
Trent Severs (Inman, Kan.) continued his tremendous play at the point, tallying a career-high 10 assists. He now ranks 7th nationally with 113 total assists.
Bethel has cooled from their hot conference start, as the Threshers have lost four straight including a 55-35 defeat at Friends University on Thursday night. Bethel’s last victory came on January 13 against the University of Saint Mary, 58-52.
Looking past Bethel, McPherson will return home next Thursday to take on Friends University. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. inside the McPherson Sport Center. A special presentation will be made at halftime for Bulldog track athlete Antowine Lamb.
Scouting Bethel
Bethel (6-15, 5-6 KCAC) enjoyed one of its best starts in recent history, as the Threshers opened KCAC play with a 5-2 mark. However, BC has struggled of late losing four in a row to fall to 5-6 in league play, including a 55-35 loss at Friends University Thursday night.
Against Friends, Bethel shot only 30.4 percent (14-of-46) from the field and 12.5 percent (2-of-16) from long range. The Thresher’s two top scorers were held to a combined zero points, while the team failed to score more than 18 points in either half. The lone bright spot of the contest was the play of Chip Schneider, who led the team with 18 points.
On the season, Bethel is allowing opponents 71.9 points per game on 44.0 percent shooting from the field. In five out of their six wins this season, BC’s opponents were held below that season average.
Alonzo Hayward leads the Thresher offense, averaging 12.2 points per game, while ranking second on the squad with 92 total rebounds. He scored a season-high 27 points against Bethany College on Jan. 8 and tallied a respectable 11 points in his first meeting with McPherson.
Jason O’Brien is the second major scoring threat for the Threshers, as he averages 11.0 points per game and leads the team with 54 three-pointers on the season. Against McPherson, O’Brien tallied a game-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.
The Threshers are coached by Mark Yoder and assisted by Alonzo Jamison.
In their last meeting...
McPherson, Kan. – Behind a hot shooting performance in the second half, the Bethel College Threshers came into the McPherson Sport Center and walked away with a 70-64 victory on Thursday night against the McPherson College men’s basketball team.
With the loss, McPherson falls to 6-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play, while the Threshers improve to 2-8 and 2-1.
Guard Kasey Miller (Derby, Kan.) led the Bulldogs with 14 points on 3-of-8 shooting, while Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Adam Bruner (McPherson, Kan.) set a career-high with 13 points, 11 of which game in the second half.
Bethel used a 25-9 run to open the second half to race out to a 14-point lead with 7:32 remaining. A Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) jumper would pull the Bulldogs within nine, but BC answered back with trips to the foul line to extend the lead to 63-50 with 2:05 left.
The Bulldogs employed a foul heavy defense to conserve clock, and behind seven straight points from Miller, were able to pull within six. However, the Threshers were too consistent from the foul line en route to the six point victory.
Bethel ended the second half shooting 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the field and 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the foul line, while McPherson converted just 32.4 percent (12-of-37) of its shots.
Jason O’Brien led BC in scoring with 18 points.
McPherson returns to action Saturday, Nov. 11 when they travel to Friends University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Wichita, Kan.
