Men's Basketball | 2/25/2011 10:37:06 AM
Game 31: #2 McPherson College (18-12, 11-7 KCAC) vs No. 3 Bethany College (14-15, 11-7 KCAC)
KCAC Tournament - Semifinals
Saturday, February 26, 2011 | 2:00 p.m. | McPherson Sport Center | McPherson, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
The McPherson College men’s basketball team looks to continue its late season surge Saturday afternoon, as the No. 2 seeded Bulldogs host No. 3 Bethany College in the semifinal round of the KCAC tournament.
Tipoff for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. inside the McPherson Sport Center. A radio broadcast will be provided by 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio. Bulldog play-by-play announcer Nick Gosnell will have the call. An audio stream will be available at www.macbulldogs.com.
McPherson (18-12, 11-7 KCAC) entered the tournament as one of the league’s hottest teams and continued that momentum with an 83-68 win against No. 7 seed Southwestern College Wednesday night. Tremendous guard play from
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) and
Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) fueled the Bulldog offensive attack, while the defense forced 14 Builder turnovers. Shivers led the team with a game-high 22 points, while Frazier recorded 21 of his own.
The victory propelled the Bulldogs into the semifinal round of the KCAC tournament for the first time since 2008.
Shivers’, who has emerged as the top scorer for the Bulldogs, 22 point effort is the 21st time he has scored at least double figures and his fourth game of 20-plus points this season.
Senior guard
Trent Severs (Inman, Kan.) continues his quest to set the single season assist record of 153 set by Jonathan Coachman in 1994-95. On the year, Severs has 148 total assists to rank ninth nationally.
Bethany (14-15, 11-7 KCAC) comes into Saturday’s game winners of six of their last seven, including overtime, 69-66, win against the University of Saint Mary. The Swedes lone loss during the stretch came against McPherson, 81-68, on February 12. Bethany features four starters that average double figures, as six different players score at least 8.8 points per game.
If the Bulldogs defeat Bethany, McPherson will advance to the KCAC championship round for the first time since 1996. MC is one of three schools never to win a tournament championship.
Scouting Bethany
The Swedes enter the KCAC semifinal round as one of the hottest teams in the conference. Bethany (14-15, 11-7 KCAC) has won six of its last seven, including a 69-66 overtime victory against a sixth seeded University of Saint Mary squad Wednesday night. The Swedes lone loss during the stretch came at the hands of McPherson College, 81-68.
Against USM, BC shot a respectable 40.0 percent (26-of-65) from the field and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the foul line. Junior guard Clayton Goggins led four Swedes in double figures with 15 points, while sophomore Trey Beachum recorded 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the effort. Defensively, Bethany held KCAC leading scorer Brandon Coleman to a near season low four points on just 2-of-9 shooting.
The Swedes feature a balanced offensive attack as six players average at least 8.5 points per game. Junior forward Chris Dean leads the team of late, averaging 14.0 points on 55.4 percent shooting over the last eight games. Beachum is the teams overall season leader at 13.4 points per game, while ranking second on the squad with 143 total rebounds.
Bethany finished the regular season as the league leader in scoring offense (75.0 points per game) and 3-point field goal percentage offense (38.4 percent), while ranking second in field goal percentage offense (45.3 percent). However, the Swedes have struggled on the defensive end ranking amongst the bottom four in scoring defense (75.2 points per game) and scoring margin (-0.1).
The Swedes are coached by Clair Oleen and assisted by Randy Clark, Durrell Robinson and Jason Schneider.
In their last meeting...
McPherson, Kan. – Behind a 52 point offensive explosion in the first half, the McPherson College men’s basketball team won its eighth straight contest, as the Bulldogs downed Bethany College, 81-68, Saturday night at the McPherson Sport Center.
The Bulldogs shot 55.3 percent (21-of-38) from the field and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from beyond the arc in the first twenty minutes to take a 52-35 lead into the break. MC cooled in the second period, but held off the Swedes en route to the victory.
With the win, McPherson improved to 16-11 overall and 10-6 in KCAC play, while the Swedes fall to 11-15 overall and 9-7 in league action. The Bulldogs gained sole possession of third place in the conference standings with the win.
Freshman guard Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) tallied his 19th double figure scoring game of the season, as he paced the Bulldog offense with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a 4-of-8 effort from beyond the arc, while junior forward Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) recorded a game high eight rebounds.
In opposite fashion to Thursday night’s game with Tabor, McPherson came out firing early building an 11-8 lead behind strong post play from Crawford, Mason Hewitt (Norwich, Kan.) and Jake Jake Reinhardt (Walton, Kan.). The Bulldogs added to their lead a few minutes later with a 6-0 run leading to a Bethany timeout. All three scores came off Swede turnovers with four points coming from Chris Crawford (McPherson, Kan.).
Bethany attempted to cut into the lead, but Shivers found his three-point stroke with a pair of treys to open an 8-0 run that extended MC’s margin to 34-22 with 7:41 left in the opening period. The Bulldogs kept their foot on the gas, outscoring BC 15-8 over the final seven minutes to enter the locker room with a 52-35 advantage.
McPherson was led in scoring by Shivers, who had 12 points at the break.
The opening of the second period looked much like the first after a Crawford jumper and Shivers four-point play made the score 58-37. However, Bethany failed to go away, outscoring MC 18-5 over the next seven minutes to cut the lead to seven, 63-56.
McPherson answered the run with a pair of baskets by Frazier and Crawford, 67-56, to push the advantage back to double figures. The two sides traded baskets over the next three minutes, before the Bulldog defense clamped down allowing only one Swede field goal the rest of the way. Along with a solid defensive effort, MC converted 6-of-7 free throws down the stretch.
The Bulldogs finished the night shooting 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field, 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from beyond the arc and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line. MC’s 83.3 percent effort at the foul line marks the third straight game that the Bulldogs have shot at least 80.0 percent.
Bethany was led in scoring by Hayden Parks, who finished the night with 14 points.
