Men's Basketball | 11/15/2012 2:25:00 PM
McPherson, Kan. – The 3-2 men’s basketball team at McPherson College is gearing up to play in the Baker Classic which is scheduled for November 16th and 17th. The Bulldogs will first play Haskell Indian Nations University on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (CT). Saturday, MC will face the host school RV Baker University at 3:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs are coming off a tough 86-81 loss to cross-town rival Central Christian College this past Tuesday. CCC was on fire right from the get-go on their home court as they made seven of their first nine shots which gave them the early lead. MC stayed close and took their first lead with right under five minutes left in the half. McPherson held the lead and went into the locker room up 34-30.
Central shot 46.2 percent from the field in the opening period; they also hit 5-of-11 from deep. The Bulldogs shot a tad-bit better, making 46.9% of their attempts with the majority of points coming from their big men and shots in the paint; MC had 18 first half points scored in the lane.
The sharp shooting of the Tigers continued in the second period which helped them regain the lead nearly two minutes into the half; a few possessions later, they were able to extend it to 10+ points. McPherson stayed within 10 points for most of the period but found themselves down 14 points with just 1:45 remaining in the game. MC didn’t give up and got the score to five points but by that time there were just a few seconds left on the clock.
CCC hit 61.5% of their second half three-point shots and made 16-of-27 from the field; the Tigers were only 17-of-31 from the charity stripe. McPherson hit 15-of-30 of their two-point field goals but just 3-of-14 from distance; the Bulldogs kept up with their seasonal average from the free throw line, going 10-of-14 for the game. MC tied their season-low in turnovers with 11 and outrebounded CCC 44-32.
Darius Hill racked up the rebounds for MC, snagging 12; match that with his season-high 21 points (10-of-15 from the field and 1-of-2 from the stripe) gave Hill his second double-double this season. Sampson Shivers came on late, scoring 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Mason Hewitt also made it into double figures for the first time this year with 12.
A trip to Columbia College for the Columbia Classic is next on the docket for the Bulldogs. They will play against Hannibal-LaGrange College on November 23 at 6:00 p.m. (CT) and then Columbia College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
Scouting Haskell Indian Nations
The 1-3 HINU Indians got their first win of the season last weekend against Southwestern College, defeating the Moundbuilders 86-74 at home.
Both teams shot the ball well but the team with the highest percentage, Haskell with 54.7%, won; the Indians also hit 8-of-18 from the three-point line and were 20-of-26 from the charity stripe. SWC shot a very commendable 42.4% from the floor and 38.1 from distance but couldn’t match the sharp-shooting of HINU. The Builders turned the ball over 22 times, 11 of which were stolen by the Indians; Haskell committed 17 turnovers.
Four HINU players made it over the 10 point hump with Stand Lovato coming off the bench and leading the way with 23 on 7-of-11 shooting with four three pointers and going 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Grant Proctor was next on the list with 13, followed by Ray Walker who had 11. Big man Joe Thompson rounded out the double-digit scores with his 10.
The Indians are scoring 70.5 points per contest while giving up just over 75. They are hitting 42.5% of their shots from the floor including 36.4 from deep. Haskell is averaging a Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference high 24.25 turnovers a game.
Lovato is putting up 13 points per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Next is Proctor who averages just over 10 points an outing. Forward Ron Rousseu is grabbing nine rebounds a contest and has 36 for the season.
Haskell will face Bethany College in day two of the Baker Classic.
Scouting Baker
The RV NAIA D-I Baker Wildcats started the season off with a loss and have since won three-straight, taking down NAIA D-II No. 12 University of Saint Mary 71-66 and most recently, fellow KCAC squad Ottawa University 73-64.
Neither team shot well in the BU vs. OU game last Saturday, the Wildcats led the way with 37.7% from the floor, Ottawa hit on 35.1 percent of their shots. The 21-of-24 night from the free throw line for Baker proved to be the difference as they hit their attempts late in the game. Both OU and the Wildcats committed few turnovers in the competition, 11 and 10, respectively.
Corey Anderson came off of the bench for Baker and hit 6-of-11 from the floor, 4-of-8 from three, and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to lead both teams with 22 points. Second on the team was fellow bench player Todd Eils who scored 10, hitting 6-of-6 from the free throw line for the majority of his points.
Baker is averaging 65.75 points a game and is giving up a 13th best in the NAIA D-I and Heart of America Conference leading 60.25 points per contest. They are making 39.8% of their attempts from the floor but are just hitting 27.9 percent from distance. The Wildcats have a +5 turnover margin for the season.
Ben Steinlage leads BU in points per game with 11.75, boasting a 47.1 shooting percentage; he is also hitting 87.5% of his free throws. Anderson is next on the scoring totem pole for the Wildcats, averaging 11 a contest, largely thanks to his 22-point performance against Ottawa.
Baker will host the OU Braves for their next contest.
