Men's Basketball | 1/25/2012 9:54:00 AM
Game 23: No. 5 McPherson College (20-2, 9-1) vs. Tabor College (9-12, 5-5)
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012 | 8 p.m. (CT) | McPherson Sport Center | McPherson, Kan.
Game Notes (PDF)
Live Video
Live Statistics
McPherson, Kan. - The No. 5 McPherson College men’s basketball team attempts to sweep the season series, as the Bulldogs welcome Tabor College to the McPherson Sport Center on Thursday night. Tipoff for the contest is scheduled for 8 p.m. (CT).
Thursday’s game between the Bulldogs and Blue Jays will be video streamed on the KCAC Broadcast Network, but will lack an audio stream due to a scheduling conflict with 96.7 FM KBBE MidKansas Radio. KBBE plans to return to normal broadcast procedures following the game at Sterling on Saturday.
McPherson enters the matchup riding a five-game win streak following an 81-69 win against struggling Bethel College last Saturday night. The victory, which improved McPherson to 20-2 overall and 9-1 in the KCAC, came in large part due to a 43-point second half from the Bulldogs. MC ended the night shooting 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field, while the defense forced 15 Thresher turnovers and held a 42-29 advantage in rebounding.
Senior guard
Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.), who recently became the 16th Bulldog to surpass 1,000 career points, led the squad with 23 points, three assists and three steals, while senior forward
Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) posted his sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Other double figure scorers included sophomore guard
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) (16 points) and junior guard
Adam Bruner (McPherson, Kan.) (11 points).
A large part of the Bulldogs success this season is due to their ability to rebound. MC ranks amongst the top 25 nationally in defensive rebounds per game (30.9), total rebound offense (962), total rebounds per game (43.7), total rebound margin (6.9) and offensive rebounds per game (12.8). Individually, Jordan Crawford leads the team with 194 total rebounds, while
Chris Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) owns 132 and Frazier 121.
Tabor proved to be the conference’s surprise of the weekend, as the Blue Jays knocked off nationally ranked Southwestern College, 80-65, on Saturday. The win snapped a two game losing streak and improved TC to 9-12 overall and 5-5 in the league. TC has struggled this season on the road, posting just a 2-7 mark in game away from the friendly confines of Tabor Gymnasium.
After Tabor, McPherson returns to the court on Saturday, Jan. 28, when they travel to Sterling College. Tip is currently scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT) inside Warrior Gymnasium.
Scouting Tabor
Under the direction of fifth year head coach Micah Ratzlaff, Tabor comes into Thursday’s game with a 9-12 record and 5-5 mark in KCAC play following an 80-65 upset victory against nationally ranked Southwestern College on Saturday. Prior to the victory, Tabor had lost two straight with defeats at Saint Mary (88-79) and Sterling (76-66). The Jays have struggled on the road this season, posting only a 2-7 record when away from the friendly confines of Tabor Gymnasium.
Against Southwestern, Tabor opened the game with a 16-5 run, but the lead slip away throughout the remainder of the period as Southwestern held a 32-31 advantage at the break. The Blue Jays rebounded with a second strong run (16-2) to open the second, as TC outscored the Builders 49-33 in the half. TC finished the game shooting 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field and was led in scoring by guard Joe Penn, who finished the night with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting and a 7-for-10 effort at the free throw line. Defensively, the Blue Jays forced 16 Southwestern turnovers and held KCAC leading scorer Ethan Randolph to 10 points.
Offensively, Tabor scores 74.6 points per game on 43.0 percent shooting as a team. In addition to a respectable field goal percentage, the Blue Jays are dangerous at the foul line, converting a KCAC second best 73.3 percent of attempts this season. They also lead the conference in assist-turnover ratio at 1.04.
Penn leads the team and ranks 13th in the KCAC with a 13.4 points per game average, including a season-high 24 points in TC’s first meeting with McPherson. Penn owns 18 double-digit scoring performances this season and is averaging 16.0 points per game over his last two contests.
Joining Penn in Tabor’s talented backcourt is guard Lawson Kingsley, who ranks second on the team at 11.7 points per game, while leading the team with 29 steals. Kingsley acts as the Blue Jays primary deep threat, leading the KCAC with a 45.2 percent (52-of-115) 3-point field goal percentage on the season.
After McPherson, Tabor wraps up its two-game road trip with a game at Kansas Wesleyan University on Saturday, Jan. 28.
In their last meeting...
Hillsboro, Kan. (12/03/12) – All five starters scored in double figures and the team shot better than 40 percent for the third straight contest, as the No. 8 McPherson College men’s basketball team defeated Tabor College, 75-69, in a hard-fought game Saturday night in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference action.
For the seventh time this season, Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) led the Bulldogs with 18 points on 6-for-15 shooting from the field, including a team-high three 3-pointers. Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) was second on the team in scoring with 16 points, while Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.) posted his second straight double-double with 15 points and a season-high 16 rebounds. Kenny Berry, Jr. (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) and Chris Crawford (McPherson, Kan.), who each finished the contest perfect from the foul line, rounded out the MC double figure scorers with 10 points each.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57) from the floor, while converting 71.9 percent (23-of-32) of free throw attempts. McPherson overcame 16 turnovers, including nine in the first half, by holding a 45-35 edge in rebounding.
McPherson, who fell behind early as Tabor opened the game with an 8-2 run, utilized an 11-2 run at the midway point of the first half to take a 23-18 lead at the 10 minute mark. The outburst was highlighted by a pair of Shivers baskets and a Frazier slam-dunk.
Tabor, however, continued to battle and eventually tied the score, 27-27, with a little under six minutes left in the opening period. McPherson answered with nine straight points before the Blue Jays closed the half with back-to-back scores to cut the Bulldog advantage to 36-31 at the break.
The two teams resumed exactly where they left off in the first half with Tabor pulling the game within three, 49-46, following a Joe Penn old-fashioned three-point play. However, much like they did every time TC pulled close, McPherson answered with an 8-2 run capped Shiver’s third 3-point basket of the night off a Frazier assist to take a 57-48 lead with 9:15 remaining.
McPherson would convert 11 of their last 14 free throws to seal the victory.
The Blue Jays, who saw their losing streak extended to five games, shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the field, but were only 6-for-27 from beyond the arc. Additionally, Tabor struggled at the free throw line, shooting 61.9 percent (13-of-21).
Penn led the Blue Jays with 24 points, while Lawson Kingsley added 18 points, respectively.
