Men's Basketball | 2/22/2011 11:17:33 AM
Game 30: No. 2 McPherson College (17-12, 11-7) vs No. 7 Southwestern College (16-11, 8-10)
KCAC Tournament Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Februar 23, 2011 | 7:00 p.m. | McPherson Sport Center | McPherson, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
Following a hard fought loss at Sterling College to wrap up the KCAC regular season Saturday night, the McPherson College basketball team looks to bounce back on Wednesday, as the No. 2 seeded Bulldogs host No. 7 Southwestern College.
Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Moundbuilders is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast in the McPherson area on 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio with Nick Gosnell and Roger Trimell on the call. An audio stream will also be available at www.macbulldogs.com.
For the second consecutive season, the Bulldogs (17-12, 11-7 KCAC) enter the KCAC tournament as the No. 2 seed following a 71-67 loss at Sterling College. McPherson held the tiebreaker over Tabor College and Bethany College, who finished the year with the same conference record, for the second spot.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs trailed by no more than nine points in the second half, but failed to get the basket that would tie or give McPherson the lead. McPherson shot 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the field, while the Warriors hit 40.4 percent (23-of-57). MC turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 17 Sterling points.
Freshman guard
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) scored a team-high 15 points, while junior forward
Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 22 rebounds. Crawford’s 22 boards, including 16 defensive rebounds, shatters his previous career-high of 11.
No. 7 seeded Southwestern (16-11, 8-10 KCAC) enters the midweek matchup riding a two game losing streak following a loss against the University of Saint Mary, 72-67. Despite shooting 49.1 percent from the floor, the Builders could not overcome a 14-point first half deficit. Junior forward Ethan Randolph is SWC’s leading scorer at 14.2 points per game. In two meetings with McPherson, he averages 10.0 points per game.
With a win, McPherson will advance to the semifinal round to face the winner of No. 3 Bethany College and No. 6 University of Saint Mary on Saturday. In a loss, the Bulldogs can still make the NAIA National Tournament if No. 1 seed Sterling College wins the conference tournament.
Scouting Southwestern
Southwestern limps into the KCAC tournament riding a two game losing streak, including a 72-67 loss against the University of Saint Mary to close out the KCAC regular season last Saturday. The Builders, a preseason fourth and fifth selection at the KCAC media day, enter the tournament as the No. 7 seed with a 16-11 overall record and 8-10 mark in conference action.
In their game against USM, the Builders shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field, but struggled at the free throw line going 9-of-19. SWC tallied only 19 first half points, but found their offensive stride scoring 48 in the second. Despite the surge of offense in the second period, Southwestern could not overcome the Spires. Forward Ethan Randolph scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting to lead three Builders in double figures. Defensively, Southwestern held KCAC leading scorer Brandon Coleman to 15 points, however Jeb Greenberg tallied 21 points and was 8-of-10 from the foul line.
Southwestern has been exceptional on the defensive end, holding opponents to a KCAC leading 60.9 points and just 39.6 percent shooting. The Builders have also been stingy on the arc, allowing opponents just a 28.6 percent success rate from 3-point range.
Individually, Randolph has emerged as a consistent offensive performer for the Builders, averaging 14.2 points on 50.4 percent shooting to rank in the top five in the league in both categories. He also ranks second on the squad with 129 rebounds and 46 assists. Against McPherson, Randolph scored 20 points in the first meeting, but was held scoreless in the two sides’ most recent contest.
Senior center David King is second on the squad with 12.5 points, while Chris Nelson averages 12.2 points per game and leads the league with an 8.0 rebounds per game (207 total rebounds) average.
Southwestern is coached by Matt O’Brien and assisted by Tim Miser and Gene Hartman.
In their last meeting...
Winfield, Kan. – The McPherson College men’s basketball team scored an impressive 45 points in the second half as the Bulldogs won their sixth straight, 78-65, at Southwestern College Saturday evening.
The win improves McPherson to 14-11 overall and 8-6 in KCAC action, while the Moundbuilders fall to 14-9 overall and 6-8 in league play.
The teams traded baskets and the lead over the first 14 minutes of the opening period as the host Southwestern College held a 26-24 advantage after three ties and six lead changes. Then, McPherson freshman forward Joey Powers (Welch, Okla.) converted an old fashioned three point play to take back the lead, 27-26. The two sides would trade the lead once more in the final three minutes of the period, but McPherson held a three-point advantage into the break, 33-30.
Junior guard Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) led the Bulldogs with 10 points in the first half as he went 5-of-7 from the floor, including scoring six of McPherson’s first 13 points. Junior forward Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) was second on the squad with seven first half points. MC shot 42.9 percent (15-of-25) from the field in the half and was 1-for-1 from the foul line.
McPherson jumped out early on the Builders in the second half with a 9-2 run open and closed by Frazier baskets. The run began with what would be his lone three-pointer of the night and was capped by a layup following a Southwestern turnover.
Southwestern hung close over the next three minutes before rattling off a 12-4 run of their own to knot the score, 53-53, with 8:31 remaining in the game. Six of Southwestern’s 12 points during the run came at the free throw line, including four consecutive from David King.
The Bulldogs regained control, though, as a Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) converted an and-one situation to give McPherson a 58-57 lead with just under seven minutes left. MC extended its lead out to seven after another three-point play, before outscoring the Builders 11-4 over the final 4:27 of regulation.
Frazier finished his first double double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds, including a game-high four offensive boards. He finished the contest 10-of-13 from the floor, but was just 1-of-3 from the foul line. In addition to Frazier, Shivers and Crawford added 11 points apiece.
MC shot 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the floor and 80 percent (12-of-15) from the free throw line, while forcing the Builders into 16 turnovers, which the Bulldogs converted into 21 points.
King led SC in scoring with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a 5-of-6 effort from the charity stripe. The Builders shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the free throw line.
