Men's Basketball | 2/14/2012 11:50:00 AM
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McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men’s basketball team gets set for their final road game of the season as they make the trip to Ottawa, Kansas to face the Braves of Ottawa University. The game will be played in the Wilson Field House at 8 p.m. (CT) on Thursday, Feb. 16.
The game will be shown live on the KCAC Broadcast Network and at Macbulldogs.com. The contest will also 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.
The triumph over Kansas Wesleyan this past Saturday allowed the Bulldogs (14-2, 25-3 overall) to keep their one-game lead over the Spires of Saint Mary in the conference. With two games to go in the regular season, a win at Ottawa almost guarantees a KCAC regular season championship. The game against OU shouldn’t be overlooked as the Braves recently took down Southwestern College in a tight, 67-65, contest. Ottawa sits at seventh place in the conference at 7-9, 10-16 for the season.
The Bulldogs came out firing against KWU, taking an early lead of 21-4. Excellent shooting by McPherson made it nearly impossible for Kansas Wesleyan to stay in the game. Despite a valiant effort by the Coyotes, they could never get the game back down to single digits.
Saturday’s victory was led by sophomore
Samson Shivers' (Houston, Texas) six three-point baskets, propelling MC to an 18-point win, 90-72. Shivers shot 33.3 percent from the three and ended the game with 23 total points.
Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.) put forth an inspired effort and had 20 points himself without a single attempt from long range.
McPherson shot 45.7 percent from the field, three percent higher than their season average. MC heaved the ball 70 times at the rim, converting on 32 of them. Their three-point average on Saturday was also higher than there average for the year by eight percent at 40.7.
Ottawa University will be heading into the game having beaten a downward reeling Southwestern College. Prior to that contest, the Braves had lost their previous four games.
Once MC returns from Ottawa, they will stay in McPherson and host Bethany for Senior/Alumni night on Saturday, Feb. 18
th. That game is scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. (CT) inside the McPherson Sport Center.
Scouting Ottawa
After a four-game losing streak plagued the Braves, OU got things back together this past Saturday as they defeated the one-time KCAC second seeded Southwestern College. The win against SWC can be attributed to the lack of turnovers by Ottawa (6) and the plethora of turnovers by the Builders (17). OU was able to force 11 of those Southwestern miscues while SWC only had 2 steals on the night.
The Braves were led in scoring by juniors Corey Smith and Chase Dippel, with 16 points apiece. Senior guard Larry Barber added 11 to the 67 points of Ottawa. The third starter for OU, Stephen Feighny, had nine rebounds and nine points in the contest.
Ottawa came away with the W even though they shot below their season average in all facets of the game. Their 20.0 percent from beyond the arc is 15 percent from the 35.3 average prior to the matchup. And despite being the top free-throw shooting team (73.7 percent) in the conference, OU shot 57.1 percent from the stripe for the contest. Even their total field goal percentage was 0.1 percent from the year’s average of 43.2. If they want to have a chance against the KCAC’s top scoring defense of McPherson, they will need to drastically improve those numbers.
The Braves’ defensive rebounds per game ranks sixth in the NAIA Division II and puts them third in the KCAC behind Southwestern and McPherson. They are also third in the conference in assists per game, thirty-ninth in the nation.
Smith is second in the conference in free-throw percentage at 81.7 percent and is seated at sixth in points per game, averaging 15.69. Dipple is close behind him at ninth place with 14.62 points. Dipple also ranks nineteenth in the NAIA Division II in total three-point makes and twentieth in threes made per game. Sterling College’s Trenton Stutzman is the only KCAC player ahead of Dipple in those categories.
After McPherson, Ottawa will finish up their regular season at home as they host the tenth seed in the KCAC, Kansas Wesleyan on Saturday, Feb. 18
th.
