Men's Basketball | 2/4/2011 5:00:39 PM
Game 25: McPherson College (13-11, 7-6 KCAC) at Southwestern College (14-8, 6-7 KCAC)
Saturday, February 5, 2011 | 7:00 p.m. | Stewart Field House | Winfield, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Audio
The Matchup
The McPherson College men’s basketball team enters the weekend contest against Southwestern riding a five game win streak following a 69-54 victory against Friends University Thursday night at the McPherson Sport Center.
Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Moundbuilders is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside Stewart Field House. A radio broadcast will be available for the McPherson area via 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio and an audio stream at www.macbulldogs.com
McPherson (12-11, 7-6 KCAC) jumped up into a tie for third place in the KCAC standings after an impressive 69-54 victory against Friends University Thursday night. In that game, McPherson shot 43.3 percent (23-of-53) from the field, including a 41.4 percent (12-of-29) effort from beyond the arc. Junior guard
Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) ended the night 5-of-6 from three-point range en route to a game-high 19 points, while freshman guard
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) tallied 12 points and junior forward
Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) chipped in 11 to round out MC’s double digit scorers.
Much of the credit for the win goes to the Bulldogs ability to play physical defense and maintain possession on offense, as McPherson forced Friends into 13 turnovers, which the Bulldogs converted into 20 points. Senior guard
Trent Severs (Inman, Kan.) continued his consistent play with a team leading seven assists. He currently rests 29 assists shy of Jonathan Coachman’s single season record of 153 assists.
McPherson will need to continue play well as they embark on a difficult portion of the schedule with road trips to Southwestern College and Tabor College. In their first meeting with Southwestern, MC forced the Builders into 19 turnovers, while shooting 39.7 percent from the floor en route to the 18-point victory.
Southwestern (14-8, 6-7 KCAC) comes off a solid 68-56 win at Bethel College on Thursday. The Moundbuilders finished the night shooting 51.0 percent (26-of-51) from the floor and 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the free throw line. Four players scored in double figures with junior forward Ethan Randolph leading the way with 18 points. He currently leads the team averaging 14.8 points per game, while ranking second on the squad with 105 total rebounds.
Following Southwestern, McPherson hits the road for a Thursday night matchup with Tabor College. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
Scouting Southwestern
Southwestern heads into Saturday’s game on a three-game win streak following a 68-56 victory against Bethel College Thursday night. The Builders previous two wins were against Kansas Wesleyan University and Ottawa University. The streak improves SWC to 14-8 overall and 6-7 in league play, just one game out of a tie for third place in the division.
Against Bethel, junior forward Ethan Randolph’s 18 points led four Moundbuilders in double figures. Guard Dennan Morrow scored 13 points, while Chris Nelson tallied 11 points and seven rebounds, as Southwestern shot 51.0 percent (26-of-51) from the floor and 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the foul line. The Builders lone blemish was their 14 turnovers against the Threshers.
Randolph headlines the Builder offensive attack with 14.8 points per game on 53.4 percent shooting. He has scored in double-digits in all but three games this season and recorded a career-best 30 points in SWC’s 75-68 victory over Southwestern Christian University back in November. He also ranks second on the squad with 105 total rebounds.
In addition to Randolph, Nelson averages double figure points at 12.5 per game, while leading the team with 170 rebounds (8.1 rebounds per game). Both Randolph and Nelson lead the team with two double doubles apiece.
Much of Southwestern’s success this season can be attributed to their defense. The Builders lead the nation in three-point field goal defense (28.3 percent), while ranking second in scoring defense (59.2 points per game), fourth in field goal percentage defense (39.0 percent) and 26th in scoring margin (9.0).
In their last meeting with McPherson, SWC shot a dismal 30.9 percent (17-of-55) from the field, 6.7 percent (1-of-15) from beyond the three-point line while turning the ball over 19 times en route to a 65-47 defeat.
The Builders are coached by Matt O’Brein and assisted by Tim Miser and Gene Hartman.
In their last meeting...
McPherson, Kan. – The Bulldogs received 29 points from the bench, as the McPherson College men’s basketball team cruised past Southwestern College, 65-47, Thursday night at the McPherson Sport Center.
With the win, McPherson improves to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in KCAC action, while the Moundbuilders fall to 10-4 and 2-3 in league play.
In the first half, the two sides traded baskets over the first seven minutes until an Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) layup off a pass from Adam Bruner (McPherson, Kan.) sparked 12-0 run to give MC a 24-10 lead with 7:34 left in the period. Following the run, McPherson never looked back taking a 32-19 lead into the break.
The Bulldogs continued their aggressive defense and consistent offense into the second half, as the Moundbuilders were unable to pull closer than eight points. McPherson stretched its lead to as many as 16 points in the second half.
On the night, McPherson had 10 different Bulldogs score at least two points, led by sophomore forward Mason Hewitt’s (Norwich, Kan.) 14. Hewitt finished the night only 4-of-14 from the field, but was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Along with Hewitt, freshman guard Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) added 12 points, while junior forward Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) chipped in 10 to round out the Bulldog’s double-digit scorers.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field and 80.0 percent (16-of-20) from the free throw line.
Southwestern was led in scoring by Ethan Randolph’s 20 points. Randolph accounted for 16 of SWC’s 28 second half points.
McPherson returns to action Saturday night when they host Tabor College. Tipoff between the Bulldogs and Blue Jays is slated for 7:00 p.m.
