Men's Basketball | 2/28/2011 10:33:25 PM
Box Score
Wichita, Kan. – The backcourt duo of Zach Goodrich and Zach Poole combined for 47 points, as the Sterling College Warriors defeated the McPherson College Bulldogs, 77-62, in the KCAC championship game Monday night at Hartman Arena. The title is the first in the tournament for the Warriors since 2004.
Poole finished the contest with a season-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a 6-of-8 effort from 3-point range, while Goodrich tallied a game-high 25 points, including 14 in the second half.
As a unit, the Warriors finished the contest with a 47.8 percent (22-of-46) from the floor, 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from 3-point range and 62.2 percent (23-37) from the free throw line.
Forward Mason Hewitt, who entered the season 0-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line, connected on a pair of three’s en route to a team-high 10 points off the bench. He was the lone Bulldog in double figure scorer.
As a team, the Bulldogs converted 22-of-60 attempts from the floor (36.7 percent), but were just 19.4 percent (6-of-31) from beyond the three-point line. It was the lowest 3-point shooting percentage since McPherson played Tabor College on February 10.
After trading baskets for the initial eight minutes of the first period, Sterling rattled off a 6-0 run to take a 24-22 lead with 4:15 remaining. Four of Sterling free throws highlighted the stretch.
McPherson answered back with a 5-0 stretch of its own to take a 29-28 lead with just under two minutes left in the period. Guard Samson Shivers closed the period on a high note for McPherson with a jumper from the corner to knot the score, 31-31, into the break.
The Bulldogs shot 40.0 percent from the floor, while the Warriors hit 35.7 percent of attempts. Sterling was 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
Sterling opened the second period as the aggressor, outscoring McPherson 13-4 over the initial five minutes of the half to force a Bulldog timeout. Following a pair of MC free throws, Poole and Goodrich teamed up for back-to-back 3-pointers to give SC a 53-38 lead with 11:51 left.
The Warriors extended their lead out to 20, 59-39, just a few minutes later on Trent Stutzman’s lone field goal of the game.
McPherson attempted to gain ground by fouling, but to no avail, as Sterling converted 15-of-26 free throws down the stretch en route to the 15-point victory.
Both Sterling and McPherson will represent the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference at the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Point Lookout, Mo. The tournament dates are from March 9-15, 2011.
