Men's Basketball | 11/20/2012 12:04:00 PM
McPherson, Kan. – The men's basketball team at McPherson College will travel to Columbia, Missouri for the Columbia College Classic which is held on November 23rd and 24th. The Bulldogs will play Hannibal-LaGrange University on Friday at 6:00 p.m. (CT) and the host school Columbia College at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The contest will be broadcasted live in the McPherson area on 96.7 FM KBBE Mid-Kansas Radio and at Macbulldogs.com with Nick Gosnell on the call.
MC is coming off a 1-1 showing at the Baker University Classic this past weekend, taking down Haskell Indian Nations for the second time in a month and losing to Baker on day two.
Against the Indians, McPherson was playing catch-up throughout the opening period but was never down more than five; they trailed 33-34 at half.
In the second, the two squads traded jabs with neither team taking total control of the game; MC held the largest lead of the contest at five points. As the clock was winding down, the Bulldogs had a chance to end the game in regulation but could not hit the shot, forcing overtime.
In OT, McPherson was in total control, holding the lead for the full five minute period; Haskell tied the score three times in overtime and forced the third as time was winding down, pushing the contest to another period. The second overtime was ran by HINU as they got up by as many as six points with just over two minutes left on the clock. The Bulldogs then went on a 7-0 run, culminating with a Sampson Shivers three-point bucket which ended the game at 93-92, Mac.
The second game of the classic was another tough challenge for McPherson. It took nearly five minutes for MC to put in their first basket which gave Baker enough time to amass an 11-point advantage. A 15-1 run by the Bulldogs in the next four minutes gave Mac the lead at 15-12. It was a tight game for the next part of the contest until a 12-2 run by BU closed out the half, putting the Wildcats up 35-25.
Period number two started with a 7-2 McPherson run to pull the 'Dogs within five but that would be the closest they would come to Baker for the remainder of the game. The Wildcats were up by double-digits for the last 15 minutes, winning 65-48.
McPherson is now 4-3 this season after going 1-2 last week. After the Columbia Classic, the Bulldogs will next play their first KCAC contest of the season; the game will come against the Bethany College Swedes on November 29th in Lindsborg, Kansas at 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Scouting Hannibal-LaGrange
The Trojans are 0-4 thus far in this early season, losing some close games with their most recent defeat coming to Iowa Wesleyan College 49-57 nearly 10 days ago. HLG will be heading into their contest with the Bulldogs well rested.
Against IWC, Hannibal-LaGrange had a rough shooting day, only hitting 19 of their 58 shots from the floor and just 24% from distance. In what looks to have been a defensive battle, the Trojans' missed shots from the free throw proved to be the difference; the team only made 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Only one HLG player made it into over 10 points as Willie Byrd made 5-of-10 from the field and 1-of-3 from the stripe for 12 points; he also grabbed 14 of the team's 37 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Arii Meuel led the squad in minutes played, only sitting for eight of the 40 minute contest; Meuel scored eight points in the loss.
This season, Hannibal-LaGrange is averaging 58.5 points an outing and are shooting the ball through the basket 39.4% of the time; they are losing by an average of six points a game. The Trojans are shooting 29.7 percent from distance and 70.7 from the free throw line.
Meuel averages 15.5 points per game and has hit 40.4% of his shots from the floor and is 11-of-14 from the charity stripe. Abraham Arinyakono is next on the list, averaging 11.5 points per game as well as a team-high 6.5 rebounds. Byrd leads HLG in assists with 14 and also grabs 6.5 boards a contest.
Hannibal will face Central Bible College, the fourth team in the classic, on Saturday.
Scouting Columbia
NAIA D-I No. 10 Columbia College is currently 4-0 and has won their games by an average of just under 30 points. The squad will have played Missouri Valley College and Central Bible College prior to taking on McPherson on Saturday.
The Cougars took on the KCAC's Ottawa University this past Friday and took down the Braves 89-52. CC hit over 50% of their shots against OU, going 36-of-64 on their home court; they also did above average from distance, making 37.5 percent. Columbia only turned the ball over 10 times and had 19 assists in the rout of the Braves.
Four players for the Cougars hit double figures and they were led by a perfect shooting performance by Jordan Dressler who went 8-of-8 from the floor including hitting his lone three-point basket; he was also 2-of-2 from the free throw line and had 10 rebounds for his second-straight double-double. Derrick Dilworth wasn't as perfect but was close as he made 6-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from the stripe for 17 points; his only misses from the floor came from behind the arc. Bench players Zach Rockers and Hal Payne scored 14 and 12 points, respectively, rounding out the players scoring over 10 points.
Columbia has hit 55.5% of their shots for the season and are averaging 87.3 points a game which is 10th in the NAIA D-I; their shooting percentage puts them second in the country. The Cougars enjoy picking up assists as they have an average of 20.5 a contest, second in D-I. They sit fourth in three-point percentage and scoring margin with 43.7% and 29.8 points, respectively.
Dilworth is putting up 15.25 points per game while shooting an amazing 72.4 percent; he is ranked third in the NAIA D-I in field goal percentage. Dressler is grabbing 7.25 boards a contest and is 13th in the country in defensive rebounds per game with 6.25. Guard Devin Griffin sits fourth in D-I in assist/turnover ratio at 6.0.
After their home classic, Columbia will play in the Arris' Pizza and Pub College Basketball Classic against Mid-Continent University and host school Lindenwood-Belleville.
