Men's Basketball | 11/25/2011 8:30:00 PM
Box Score Box Score
Hastings, Neb. – Five Bulldogs scored in double figures to help the McPherson College men’s basketball team hold off Doane College, 68-58, on Friday night at the Hastings College Thanksgiving Classic in Hastings, Neb.
With the victory, the Bulldogs remains unbeaten on the year and improves to 10-0 overall, while the Tigers go to 5-4 on the season.
Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) led the Bulldogs with 16 points, which tied a season-high, and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Crawford’s effort on the boards is the fourth time this season he has recorded double figure rebounds.
In addition to Crawford,
Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.),
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas),
Chris Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) and
Kenny Berry, Jr. (Lee's Summit, Mo.) scored in double figures. Shivers and Frazier posted 13 points each, while Crawford scored 11 points and Berry tallied 10 points, respectively. Outside of the starting five, only two other Bulldogs scored points in the contest.
Both sides shot poorly in the first half with neither side converting better than 29 percent field goals. Despite the offensive struggles, McPherson entered the locker room with a 28-22 lead.
A quick two-point by Chris Crawford off an assist by Berry got the MC offense moving to start the second half as the Bulldog opened the period with an 11-3 run to take its largest lead of the contest, 39-27, with 15:34 to play. Doane, however, refused to roll over, outscoring McPherson 20-8 over the next eight minutes including back-to-back 3-pointers by Jen Scholl and Nick Reed to tie the score 47-47.
The two sides traded baskets before the Bulldogs added back-to-back threes of their own from Chris Crawford and Shivers to take back the lead, 55-51, with 4:46 left in regulation. The scores swung the momentum completely in MC’s favor as the Bulldogs connected on 9-of-10 free throws to close out the contest.
McPherson shot 37.5 percent (24-of-64) from the floor, including 50.0 percent (13-of-26) in the second half, and 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the foul line. Despite their success from the floor, the Bulldogs converted only 6-of-21 attempts beyond the arc. Behind three Bulldogs pulling down seven or more boards, MC held a 44-43 edge in rebounding.
Doane finished the contest shooting 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the floor, but struggled from the free throw line, converting only 8-of-15 attempts. Reed led the Tigers with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including two 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow when they play host Hastings College at 4 p.m. (CT).
