Men's Basketball | 2/26/2011 4:43:58 PM
Box Score
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – The Bulldogs dominated both sides of the ball, as the McPherson College men’s basketball punched its ticket to the KCAC tournament championship game with a 77-51 win against Bethany College on Saturday afternoon. The victory gives MC its first appearance in the title game since 1996.
The Bulldog (19-12, 11-7 KCAC) offense shot a season-high 54.5 percent (30-of-55), including a 61.3 percent (19-of-31) effort in the second half, while the defense forced 22 Swede turnovers and held BC to only 30.8 percent from the field.
Junior forward Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) scored 14 second half points en route to a game-high 17. He also posted a team leading six rebounds in the win. Fellow McPherson native, Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) tallied 14 points, while Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) added 11 and Trent Severs (Inman, Kan.) scored 10 to round out MC’s double-digit scorers.
McPherson took control of the game early with an 8-0 run capped by a Frazier steal and score to lead to an early Swede timeout. Following the timeout, Bethany rattled off a 6-2 run of its own, highlighted by a Jack Sadowy 3-pointer, to cut the MC lead to 10-6.
However, the Bulldogs answered with a 17-0 stretch to push their advantage to 28-6 with 5:37 remaining in the half. Frazier tallied nine of MC’s 17, including his third steal and score of the half to force BC into using a second timeout.
A cold spell by McPherson allowed Bethany to make it a 28-15 advantage at the break.
In the half, McPherson held BC to only four field goals, including a 2-for-14 stretch to open the contest.
The Bulldogs pulled away in the second period, as McPherson outscored the Swedes 49-36 in the frame.
Bethany got as close as 11, 28-17, early in the period, but following a Crawford 3-pointer, off a diving assist by Chris Crawford (McPherson, Kan.), McPherson held a 57-32 advantage with 8:16 left in regulation.
The Bulldogs kept up the pressure the rest of the way en route to the 26-point victory.
BC was led in scoring by Haydon Parks and Trey Beachum, who scored 11 points apiece respectively. The Swedes entered the game averaging 74.8 points per contest.
McPherson returns to action on Monday, February 28 in the KCAC championship game at Hartman Arena. The Bulldogs will face No. 1 seed Sterling College with a tipoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
