Men's Basketball | 12/20/2012 11:19:00 AM
Live Video
McPherson, Kan. – The Bulldog basketball program, after their incredible showing at the 2011-12 NAIA National Tournament, accepted an invitation to play in the Chuck Daly Classic in West Palm Beach, Fla., hosted by No. 5 Northwood University. MC will face two out of the three teams playing in the classic as it uses a tournament style format. The ‘Dogs will first take on NCAA D-III Emmanuel College of Massachusetts on December 29th at 4:00 p.m. (CT)
All of the games will be broadcasted live at www.ustream.tv/channel/seahawks-tv.
After losing five straight, McPherson got back on the winning track by taking down NCAA Division II Rockhurst University 71-64 in an exhibition match in Kansas City, Mo. In the early goings of that game, scoring was slow as neither MC nor the Hawks could get any points on the board. An eight-point run was capped off by a Sampson Shivers three pointer and gave Mac the early 12-5 lead. RU bounced back and put the score at 12-12 after a 7-0 run. A pair of free throws on the next possession by Adam Bruner gave McPherson the lead which they held for the remainder of the half, heading into the locker room up 33-27.
The final 20 minutes of the game were controlled by the Bulldogs as they never lost the lead in the second period; they got up by as many as 12 but the score stayed in the single-digits for most of the half. Rockhurst tried to climb back into things in the game’s final minutes but MC continued to play tough on the defensive end, fighting for every possession; McPherson would hold on, winning 71-64.
A big key for Mac in their win was their ability to stay out in front; in their recent losses, the ‘Dogs have had to come from behind and were often too drained to close out the come-back. Shot selection for the Bulldogs was also a contributing factor in their win as they hit 57.14% of their shots from the field in the second half.
MC led the game in rebounds with 38 compared to Rockhurst’s 24. The Bulldogs were positive in the assist-turnover category, recording 17 assists and just 14 turnovers. McPherson converted on 46.8 percent of their shots in the win, going 29-of-62; Mac continued to struggle from the free throw line, hitting just 8-of-13 for the night. The Hawks went 20-of-46 for a 43.5 shooting percentage and hit a perfect 17-of-17 from the stripe.
McPherson’s Mason Hewitt got his second-straight start and put in a game-high 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. Sampson Shivers was second on the list with 13, 10 of which came in the first half. Devirous Johnson entered the game off the bench and scored 12 points, hitting 6-of-12 from the field.
MC sits 10th in the NAIA D-II in offensive rebounds per game with 13.8 and are 28th in total rebounds per game, grabbing 39.8 per outing. Shivers ranks 24th in the Nation in total three-point shots made with 36 and is 25th in shots made per game from downtown at 2.77.
Following their competition with Emmanuel College, if the Bulldogs win, they will take on the winner of the Northwood University vs. Valor Christian College game on December 30th; if McPherson loses to EC, they will face the loser of the NU/VCC contest.
Scouting Emmanuel College
The Saints are 1-6 and currently riding a four-game losing streak, losing both close games and some blowouts. EC most recently lost big to Endicott College 96-77 on December 11th; they’ll be heading into their game against McPherson after having an 18-day break.
The Endicott Gulls shot 58.1% from the floor on 36-of-62 and were 7-of-16 from distance in their win over EC; they also hit 17-of-22 from the charity stripe. Emmanuel did not have such a great night shooting as they only made 39.4 percent of their attempts from the field and ended the game making just 14-of-21 from the free throw line. Each team had 17 turnovers in the contest; the Saints were outrebounded 40-30 in their loss but managed to pull down 15 offensive boards.
Nine of the ten starters of the game ended the night in double figures; all five for the Gulls and four of the five for EC. The Saints were led by Theo Robinson who was 10-of-20 from the field and 2-of-5 from the charity stripe for his game-high 22 points. Fellow forward Conner Morgan scored 13 on 3-of-7 from behind the arc and 4-of-4 from the stripe. Josh Welles and Brandon Jones each totaled 11 points. Emmanuel’s fifth starter finished the contest with a goose-egg next to his name in the point category, missing all five shots he attempted. Michael Mailhot came in off the bench to score 15, rounding out the double-digit Saint scorers.
This season, EC puts up 64.1 points per game while converting 39.5% of their field goals; they hit an average of 4.3 three-point shots each time out, making just 28% of their attempts from downtown. The Saints are losing the rebounding battle by over 10 boards per contest and turn the rock over 16.7 times a game. Opponents are making over 50% of the shots they take against Emmanuel and score an average of 80.1 points.
Xavier Everson, who did not play in the team’s most recent defeat, is averaging a team-high 15.3 points per game in his six games played and also brings down 4.8 rebounds. Robinson averages 13.6 points a contest and leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 7.1 each time he hits the court. Mailhot is the other Saint that is scoring over 10 points a game, averaging 12.9.
Scouting Valor Christian College
After starting the season with eight-straight wins, the Warriors have found themselves on a three-game skid, losing by a combined 12 points. The VCC team from Ohio lost 90-85 to Oakland City University on the 15th of December.
In their game against OCU, Valor Christian shot the ball well, converting on 41% of their shots from the field which included going 11-of-24 from distance. The Warriors struggled from the free throw line as they only made 10-of-20, quite possibly losing the game from the stripe.
There was a battle between two VCC players for who could eclipse the 30-point mark in their game against Oakland City and forward Andrew Douby won, hitting 30 points after his 11-of-17 night from the floor; he was 5-of-7 from downtown but just 3-of-7 from the charity stripe. Ulrick Paul came in second with 29 points on 11-of-24 shooting, 4-of-6 from the three and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Adam Cunningham was the only other Warrior to hit double figures, making 4-of-12 from the field and 2-of-5 from the stripe for 10 points.
Valor Christian is scoring an average of 92.9 points per game, ranking them first in the USCAA D-II, while hitting over 50% of their attempts. The squad shoots 36.6 percent from behind the arc and makes a USCAA leading 18.9 free throws per outing. VCC pulls in 41.1 rebounds a game and has a positive 10.5 rebounding margin. They are stealing the ball over 16 times per contest while only turning the ball over 15.6 times.
Yves Saintelo leads the Warriors in scoring this season, averaging 25.5 points a game while pulling down a team-high 8.7 boards. Douby is second on the scoring list, averaging 21.6 per contest along with 6.6 rebounds. Paul sits third and second in points per game (15.8) and rebounds (7.6), respectively. Cunningham is recording 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds each time he hits the court.
Scouting Northwood University
The Seahawks sit at 12-1 this season, losing their lone game on December 1st, winning six before and six after. They took down Truett-McConnell in the English Family Classic on December 18th 101-75; they are winning most of their games by over 20 points this season.
Against the 2-11 TMC Bears, Northwood shot the ball impressively well, making 53.8% of their attempts from the floor which included going 13-of-26 from behind the three-point line; they went 18-of-26 from the charity stripe in their blowout win. Truett-McConnell also had a good day shooting the ball, making 46.4 percent from the field and 42.9 from deep but took nearly 10 fewer attempts than NU as the Seahawks took advantage of every opportunity. Northwood had 40 rebounds in the game, 11 on the offensive end and forced 18 turnovers while just committing 13 of their own.
Rashad James led NU in scoring with his 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field and 9-of-13 day from the charity stripe. Both Thierno Agne and Patrick Horstmann scored 15, making five field goals and two free throws. Tracy Parks came in off the bench to add 13 on 5-of-9 shooting. Dan O’Keefe and Kevin McDuffie each put in 10, rounding out the double-digit scorers.
89.9 points are averaged by the Seahawks as is a 51% shooting percentage; their points per game are third best in the Nation. The team is making a NAIA third highest 9.5 three balls per outing while hitting 42.6 percent from distance, first in the NAIA D-II. An impressive 71.9% of Northwood’s free throws are finding the bottom of the net as they are making 14.5 per game. The squad nearly has double the assists compared to turnovers each time they hit the floor, placing them second in the country.
James is putting in 21.8 points per contest, eighth best in the NAIA D-II, while shooting 56.7% from the field; he also has been grabbing 5.8 boards each time out. Masse Doumbe leads the team in rebounds a game, pulling in, ninth highest in the NAIA, 9.8 boards to go along with his 19.3 points. Tyrone Davis and Parks each average over 10 points per contest; Davis leads the country in assists per game with his 9.4 and has 103 for the season.
