Men's Basketball | 11/8/2012 10:14:00 AM
Box Score
Manhattan, Kan. – Bulldog basketball went up to Manhattan, Kansas to take on the Manhattan Christian College Crusaders on Wednesday night. MC came out victorious, winning 79-69 in a very close contest. McPherson is now 3-0 on the year.
The game was a tight one from the get-go with neither team trailing the other by too many points. Poor shooting performances by both squads in the opening period left the score at 31-30 with the advantage going to McPherson. The Bulldogs hit 0.4 percent better from the field than the Crusaders, making 11-of-29 compared to the 12-of-32 of MCC. Both teams also struggled from the free throw stripe, shooting right around the 60% mark.
The second half went just like the first with both teams trading punches, trying to extend their own lead but unable to. Two big three pointers by Kasey Miller (Derby, Kan.) late in the game gave MC enough of a lead that Manhattan Christian had to foul in the final minute of the game, forcing the Bulldogs to hit their free throws. Fortunately for McPherson, they had improved their shooting from the charity strip and closed the game out with a 10-point advantage at 79-69.
MC made 94.4 percent of their free throw shots in the final period, hitting 17-of-18, combine that with their 5-of-8 first half performance and McPherson shot an acceptable 84.6% for the game. Their three-point percentage did not improve in the second half as they only made 5-of-18 giving them an overall percentage of 28.1 from deep for the game.
The Bulldogs dominated the points from free throws category on Wednesday, making 22 compared to just eight of MCC. They also led in total rebounds with 45 including 11 off of the offensive glass. McPherson cut down their turnovers to just 11 for the contest, seven of which were stolen by the Crusaders.
In terms of points, Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) led the way again for MC, making 6-of-16 from the field, five of those were from distance; he also hit 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Darius Hill (Kansas City, Kan.) had his first double-double of the year, grabbing 10 boards to go with his 12 points. Also making it into double figures was Jake Reinhardt (Walton, Kan.) who went 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-4 from the stripe for 11 points.
Three crusaders scored in the double-digits on Wednesday. Josh Camacho came off the bench to lead the way with 18 points, 12 of which came from behind the arc. Alex Hammack put in 11 points while Jack Mitchell posted 10.
McPherson will now get one day of rest before games on back-to-back days. Friday the 9th, the Bulldogs will host the Morningside Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. (CT) in the McPherson Sport Center. Then MC will turn around and take on the NCAA Division II Fort Hays State University Tigers on Saturday in an exhibition contest at 4:30 p.m. in Hays, Kansas.
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