Men's Basketball | 2/25/2012 11:10:00 PM
Box Score
Box Score
McPherson Kan. – The McPherson College Men’s Basketball Team is going to the KCAC Championship Game! In a thrilling, up and down semi-final game against Tabor College, the Bulldogs came out victorious, winning 68-66 Saturday in the Sport Center.
Right from the start it was easy to tell that this was going to be an aggressive, physical game. The energy level of both teams was high as the game went back and forth with neither team taking a double digit lead until the 3:54 mark in the opening period when McPherson was able to get their lead to 11 but could not hold it, going into halftime up nine.
In the second half, Tabor continued to push and came within two points of MC a couple of times before finally tying it at 44 apiece with 9:40 left in regulation. The Blue Jays took the lead with just over six minutes left and held it until the 3:40 mark when Chris Crawford’s two free-throws tied it up for the eighth time. The final few minutes were made your heart race with both teams keeping within three points of each other. Down one point with 40 seconds remaining, Samson Shivers nailed a deep three-pointer which turned out to be the game winner. Crawford rejected the would-be game tying shot with only eight seconds to go. After a poor inbounds pass, TC got one last chance but a deep two-point miss by Lawson Kingsley sealed the deal for the ‘Dogs.
The win for McPherson (29-3 overall) advances them into the championship game this Monday night at 8 p.m. (CT) in the Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. Tabor is now done for the season, finishing the year with a 15-16 record.
Shivers had an incredible night from behind the arc, draining a career high seven from distance; he shot 53.3 percent from the field to lead all scorers with 24 points. Aaron Frazier came out on fire, making all four of his first half shots, including one from down-town. Frazier ended the game with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Senior forward Chris Crawford scored 10 in the contest.
The Bulldogs had one of their better nights shooting, hitting 45.6 percent of their shots including going 52.2% in the second period; MC put up 27 three pointers and were able to convert on 11 of them. They didn’t get it done from the free-throw line as they have in recent games, making only 50 percent (5-of-10)
Gavin Serene came into the game averaging 4.57 points per game, that number is sure to go up after his 8-of-13, 22 point night. Serene was 50% from long range (3-of-6) and made all three of his free-throw attempts. 11 points were scored by guards Kingsley and Michael Janzen.
Tabor had a great night shooting as well, making 46.2 percent from the field. They also had an great second half, hitting 6-of-9 three pointers and shooting 58.3%of their total shots in that period. The KCAC’s second ranked free-throw shooting team continued to make their shots from the charity stripe, going 10-of-14 from the line.
This was a low offensive rebounding game for both teams as McPherson grabbed seven balls off the offensive glass and TC was only able to come down with four. Turnovers, which have been a problem for MC in the past few games, seemed to be under control in the first half as the Bulldogs only gave the ball away three times. Unfortunately, they nearly quadrupled that total thanks to eight turnovers in the second period.
McPherson now has one day of rest and preparation before they face the Spires of Saint Mary in the KCAC Championship Game Monday, Feb. 27 at the Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. at 8 p.m. (CT)
