Men's Basketball | 11/23/2012 8:21:00 PM

Box Score
Columbia, Mo. – In game one of the Columbia University Classic, McPherson took down the Hannibal LaGrange Trojans 74-56 in a game where MC played two halves that showed a consistent Bulldog basketball team.
 
The game began with HLG jumping out to a quick 10-point lead of 17-7 after a 15-2 run by the Trojans left McPherson in the dust.  The Bulldogs fired right back answering with a 27-7 run of their own spanning over 10 minutes, putting the score at 34-24.  The halftime buzzer would sound with MC leading 34-28. 
 
Each team put up 25 shots from the floor in the opening half with both hitting 12 of those attempts.  McPherson would make one more three pointer and five more free throws; the Bulldogs hit 100% of their shots from the charity stripe, going 6-of-6. 
 
Half number two started with Hannibal LaGrange coming out of the gate and trying to stay in the game, keeping within a handful of points.  The game would hit its fourth lead change when the Trojans jumped in front with 13 minutes showing on the clock.  Both teams traded points for the next few minutes until a quick 10-1 run by the Bulldogs gave them the lead for good.  MC held a 10-point advantage for the final four minutes of the contest, winning 74-56.
 
The ‘Dogs kept up with their solid shooting performance, draining 14-of-31 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line; MC was 5-of-9 from distance in the second period.  HLG shot worse after halftime, only making 37.9% of their shots; they were also just 2-of-5 from the stripe.  McPherson ended the game shooting 46.4% from the floor and 47.4 from beyond the three-point line, setting a season-high percentage from deep.  The Bulldogs dominated the glass, outrebounding the Trojans 43-25; 18 offensive rebounds were tallied by McPherson.
 
There were three MC players hitting double figures in the win; Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) led the group with 16 points on 5-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.  Forward Mason Hewitt (Norwich, Kan.) came in off the bench and put in 12 points, hitting 66.6% of his field goals and going 4-of-4 from the stripe.  Kasey Miller (Derby, Kan.) downed three three-point buckets along with two free throws for his 11.  Darius Hill (Kansas City, Kan.) only put in 17 minutes of playing time but recorded 11 rebounds, six coming off of the offensive glass; he also bucketed six points.
 
Arii Meuel led the Trojans in scoring with 17 on 7-of-14.  He was followed by Alistair McCann who made 50% of his 10 shots for 12 points.  Jomal Green was the final Hannibal LaGrange player to get over the 10-point hump with 11 on 5-of-8 shooting.
 
MC will now take on the host school of the Columbia Classic, the CC Cougars.  Tipoff for that competition is 3:00 p.m. (CT) on Saturday.