Men's Basketball | 11/28/2012 2:20:00 PM
McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men’s basketball team has been up and down as of late and are looking to start the KCAC season off on the right foot; they can do this by defeating their inner-county rival Bethany College when they square off on November 29th, game time is 8:00 p.m. (CT) in Lindsborg, Kan.
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 with former McPherson basketball coach Roger Trimmell doing the color commentary. Steve Sell will join the broadcast with halftime and postgame insight and analysis. You can also watch the game via ihigh.com/macbulldogs or through the iHigh app.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 1-1 performance at the Columbia College classic where they were triumphant against Hannibal LaGrange on Friday 74-56 but then lost to the host school Columbia by a score of 60-96 on Saturday.
In the game against HLG, the Trojans got out to a quick lead but a 27-7 run by McPherson gave the Bulldogs the lead for the remainder of the half; MC led 34-28 heading into the locker room. The second half started much like the first with Hannibal coming out strong, keeping the game close until they finally took the lead seven minutes into the period. But then a 10-1 run by McPherson put them in front for good. They held a 10-point advantage for the last four minutes of the game, ultimately winning 74-56.
There were three MC players hitting double figures in the win; Sampson Shivers led the group with 16 points on 5-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Forward Mason Hewitt 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 downed three three-point buckets along with two free throws for his 11. Darius Hill only put in 17 minutes of playing time but recorded 11 rebounds, six coming off of the offensive glass; he also bucketed six points.
Day two brought a game of a different nature for McPherson as they faced a very sharp shooting squad of Cougars. Just a few minutes into the game, Columbia put together a 20-2 run spanning nearly 10 minutes. The Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game but never brought the score within single digits. A 50-point performance by CC gave them the 50-31 halftime advantage.
In the second period, Columbia would keep their 20+ distance and was even able to push it to 30 points with five minutes remaining in the game. The scoreboard showed 96-60 in favor of the home team when the final buzzer sounded.
Dante Lee went 6-of-14 from the field including hitting 50% of his three point shots, going 5-of-10, to lead McPherson in points with a season-high 18. Shivers and Hill each totaled 12 points; Hill had a 100% field goal percentage, hitting 5-of-5, and also made 2-of-3 from the stripe. Shivers is currently ranked ninth in the NAIA D-II in three pointers made with 30 and also sits at 11th in three-point shots made per game with 11.
Their first home game in nearly a month is next on the docket for McPherson as they host the Tabor College Blue Jays on Saturday, December 1; the varsity game will begin at 7:00 p.m. (CT) with the JV squad getting their chance at 3:00 p.m.
Scouting Bethany
The Swedes sit at 4-3 this season and are coming off a 1-1 tournament that was hosted by Colorado Christian University. Bethany defeated Baptist Bible College 116-41 but was taken down by CCU 57-52.
It was a turnover happy contest between the Cougars and BC as each team threw the ball away over 20 times; Colorado Christian was able to steal back 11 to help balance out their turnover ratio. Neither team shot the ball well as Bethany led with a 38.8 field goal percentage; CCU was 18-of-52 from the floor and made just 6-of-25 from distance. The Swedes lost the rebounding battle 29-39.
The typically high scoring Swedes were held to just 52 points against the Cougars and didn’t have any players make it into double figures in scoring. Trey Beachum and Ray Purtle led the team with eight points but neither shot very well from the floor, combining for a 6-of-19 shooting performance. Jason Mihalcin went 100% from the field (3-of-3) but missed his two free throw attempts; he led the team in rebounds, grabbing six.
An average of 80 points per game have been scored by Bethany this season, second in the KCAC, while shooting 47.9% from the floor which puts them at the top of the conference; the squad’s 18.1 scoring margin is 13th in the NAIA D-II. The team is grabbing 36.3 rebounds per contest and are only allowing 23.9 against them, giving Bethany a 3.71 rebounding margin. BC has been grabbing 10.5 steals per outing while forcing 22 turnovers; they are only turning the ball over themselves 18 times a game for a 4.43 turnover margin which is 13th best in the country. The Swedes lead the KCAC in blocks per game with three.
Purtle is scoring just under 17 points per game and has a 45.3 field goal percentage; he is bucketing 3.14 three pointers per contest which places him 16th in D-II. Beachum accounts for 13 points each time he hits the court; he is making 48.6% of his shot attempts. Seth Nelson leads the squad in rebounds with 44 total and 6.3 per game. Mihalcin has 11 blocks on the season and averages 1.57 a game which is the 24th best in the Nation.
The Bethel College Threshers will visit Bethany for the Swedes’ next game. That competition will be on December 1st at 7:00 p.m. (CT)
