Men's Basketball | 12/6/2012 10:27:00 PM
Box Score
Ottawa, Kan. – The men’s basketball program at McPherson College is still looking for their first conference win after a 59-65 loss to the Ottawa University Braves. The defeat brings MC’s record to 5-7 for the year and 0-3 in the KCAC.
Ottawa scored the first bucket on the game’s first possession 20 seconds into the contest and would not relinquish their lead for the remainder of the game. The Bulldogs kept their deficit in single-digits for the first seven minutes of the game but OU would increase their advantage to double figures for the middle part of the period; 16 points was the largest lead of the half. A quick five-point run by MC pulled the game to seven points heading into halftime.
The Bulldogs had a better shooting percentage than Ottawa in the opening period, hitting 10-of-26 from the floor compared to OU’s 13-of-35. MC struggled from both the free throw line and the three-point arc as they went 4-of-10 and 1-of-9, respectively. The Braves made 5-of-16 from distance and 1-of-3 from the stripe.
The second half started with a basket by
Darius Hill (Kansas City, Kan.) to bring McPherson within five points, the closest the Bulldogs got for the remainder of the game. Ottawa quickly improved their lead to 10+ and held it there for the majority of the second period. MC made a run here or there to briefly bring the game to single digits, but unfortunately for the ‘Dogs, OU would always answer a McPherson run with one of their own. Mac put together a 10-2 run to end the game but came up just short, losing 59-65.
Both teams went 13-of-29 in the second period, draining 44.83% of their shots. MC outscored Ottawa by one point due to more three-point makes; the Bulldogs went 6-of-13 from distance in the half. Another poor showing at the charity stripe didn’t help McPherson as they were just 2-of-7; OU made 3-of-4 in the period from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs ended the game with a 41.8 field goal percentage, making 23-of-55 from the floor including 7-of-22 from deep. Ottawa attempted nine more attempts, finishing the contest 26-of-64. Neither team racked up a substantial amount of rebounds as MC had 30 to lead the game.
Hill was 6-of-8 in the contest for a team-high 13 points; he converted on just 1-of-4 from the stripe.
Joey Powers (Welch, Okla.) came in off the bench and put in a solid 19 minutes, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Mason Hewitt (Norwich, Kan.) and
Devirous Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) each pulled in six rebounds to lead the Bulldogs; Hewitt had nine points while Johnsons totaled four.
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) had another tough night, making just 2-of-11 from the field, both three pointers, and 1-of-2 from the stripe.
Corey Smith had a game-high 20 points for the Braves, hitting 9-of-16 from the floor; he also had six rebounds in the win. Julian Rose and Adam Hasty each scored 10 points and had 10 rebounds between the two of them.
Another long road trip awaits McPherson on Saturday, December 8
th for their next contest. MC will go to Winfield, Kansas to take on the 9-4 Southwestern College Moundbuilders; tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. (CT)
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