Men's Basketball | 1/5/2011 2:21:35 PM
Game 16: McPherson College (7-8, 1-3) vs Southwestern College (10-3, 2-2)
Thursday, January 6, 2011 | 8:00 p.m. | McPherson, Kan. | McPherson College Sport Center
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
The McPherson College men’s basketball team looks for its second win in KCAC play, as the Bulldogs host the Moundbuilders of Southwestern College Thursday night at the McPherson Sport Center. A victory would give the Bulldogs their second in three games.
Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Builders is slated for 8:00 p.m. A live radio broadcast will be provided by 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio with an audio stream provided at www.macbulldogs.com. Play-by-play announcer Nick Gosnell will have the call with help from McPherson College student Jose Arenas.
McPherson (7-8, 1-3) opened the 2011 portion of its schedule with a road trip to York College on Monday night. Despite strong bench play and a career-high 19-point effort from freshman guard
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas), the Bulldogs fell at York 80-93. On the night, McPherson shot 38.0 percent (27-of-71) from the field and a season-best 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the foul line.
Despite the loss, the emergence of Shivers has been an encouraging sign for the Bulldogs. In MC’s last three games, including an exhibition with Newman University, Shivers is averaging 14.0 points and is shooting 43.3 percent on the year.
Southwestern enters the contest with a 10-3 overall record following a 60-50 win against Grace University on Monday night. The win is the Builders third straight and gives them victories in eight of their last 10 contests.
Looking past Southwestern, the Bulldogs play host to Tabor College on Saturday, January 8. Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Blue Jays is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside the McPherson College Sport Center.
Scouting Southwestern
Southwestern comes to McPherson with a 10-3 record and 2-2 mark in conference play following a 60-50 win against Grace University on Monday night. In the game, senior center David King led the Builders with 15 points in just 17 minutes, while Rend Lake Community College transfer Ethan Randolph tallied 12 points and two assists. Thirteen different Builders saw at least two minutes of action in the contest.
Southwestern opened the conference season with a pair of road losses to Sterling College (53-71) and Kansas Wesleyan University (63-65), but has since righted the ship with victories against Ottawa University (62-50) and Bethel College (72-60).
The Builders returned 2009 NAIA Honorable Mention All-American center David King after an injury kept the 6-11 senior sidelined during the 2009-10 season. King is the Builders leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game. Labette Community College transfer Chris Nelson has been a key contributer for Southwestern, ranking second on the team at 13.3 points per game and leading the side with 8.4 rebounds per contest.
As a team, Southwestern leads NAIA D-II in scoring defense (56.2) and field goal percentage defense (36.7 percent).
Head coach Matt O’Brien is in his third year as the head coach of the Moundbuilders and owns a 49-65 career record.
In their last meeting...
Winfield, Kan. – The McPherson College men’s basketball team won a knockdown, drag-out brawl against the Southwestern College Moundbuilders, 67-56, Saturday night at the Stewart Field House.
Senior forward Antowine Lamb completed his third consecutive double double of the season to propel McPherson to an overall record of 18-5 and 11-3 in KCAC action. With the loss, Southwestern drops to 11-13 and 7-7 in league play.
Lamb paced the McPherson offense with 11 points, while pulling down a season-high 16 rebounds, while fellow senior Marlon Dominique added 11 points and a game high six assists. Sophomore Aaron Frazier was the only other Bulldog near double figures as he finished the night with nine points. Ten different Bulldogs scored as many as three points.
Both sides struggled to find a rhythm on offense in the first half. McPherson held a lead as much as 11 in the opening period, but a late 8-0 run by the Builders pull the game within three, 25-22 with just under two minutes left. Lamb ended the run with two straight baskets to give the Bulldogs a 29-22 half time lead.
McPherson struggled at maintaining possession in the first half, as the Bulldogs turned it over 15 times. Defensively, the Bulldogs held Southwestern to 27.6 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half remained just as physical as the first. With the game tied at 45 with 7:29 remaining and the momentum beginning the swing in Southwestern’s favor, senior forward Patrick Nemechek connected on a three-pointer from the corner as the shot clock expired to give the Bulldogs life. On the next possession, after a Southwestern charge, freshman Kasey Miller followed Nemechek’s example with a three of his own to give McPherson a six point advantage, 51-45 with 6:20 left.
Southwestern would cut the deficit to three, 53-50 on a deep three from Tim Miser, but again McPherson would answer with a pair of free throws from Lamb and a layup by Frazier.
The Bulldogs would sealed the game as Lamb converted a three-point play to give McPherson an 11-point, 63-52 lead with 1:07 to play. McPherson would connect on their free throws down the stretch en route to the 67-56 win.
For the game, McPherson shot 46.9 percent from the field, including a 61.1 percent effort in the second half. The Bulldogs turned the ball over a season-high 26 times, but out rebounded the Builders, 54-22.
Defensively, the Bulldogs held Southwestern to 34.9 percent shooting from the field. Senior guard Justin Diggles led the Builders with 14 points, while Tim Miser added 13.
