Men's Basketball | 3/9/2012 7:22:00 PM

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Point Lookout, Mo. – The No. 5 McPherson College men’s basketball team is heading to the quarterfinals for the second straight year after defeating No. 12 Saint Thomas University, 86-74 in the second round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament on Friday.  They now will play visitor for the first time in the tournament as they face No. 4 Dordt College Saturday, March 10 at 1 p.m. (CT)

The game against STU was another close contest for the 32-3 Bulldogs; in the first half, there were five ties and the largest lead was seven.  MC owned a four point lead heading into the locker room thanks to a pair of Adam Bruner (McPherson, Kan.) free-throws.  For the second straight game, McPherson came out and took control in the second half, only trailing for 36 seconds and bringing their lead to 12 points a few times.  St. Thomas continued to battle but could never get closer than seven.  The Bulldogs hit 14-of-16 from the free-throw line to keep the Bobcats at bay, ending the game with a 12 point advantage.

Aaron Frazier (McPherson, Kan.), once again, played like the KCAC Player-of-the-Year, scoring the first 10 points for McPherson and ending the game with 23 on 7-of-14 from the field, 5-of-6 from long range.  Frazier also had eight rebounds and four assists leading MC in boards and only bested in assists by Mike Atwater (Wichita, Kan.) who had five.  Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas), after hitting only one three pointer in the first round, made 5-of-8 from distance, finishing the game with 19 points.  Jordan Crawford (McPherson, Kan.), returning to his mid-season form, had 17 points, nine of which came from the charity stripe, and eight rebounds.

McPherson shot an unbelievable 66.7 percent from beyond the arc, hitting 12-of-18.  They posted a 45.1 total percentage from the field on 23-of-51.  MC did their job from the free-throw line, nailing an incredible 28-of-38; they over-doubled the FT attempts and makes of Saint Thomas.  The Bulldogs were much more giving in this game, gaining 17 assists compared to four in the game against DSU. 

A win on Saturday would give McPherson the day off on Sunday before they would play on Monday at 6 p.m. (CT).  The opponent of that game will be determined Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT)

 
Scouting Dordt

Dordt College finished the regular season with a 27-4 record and was seeded fourth in the NAIA-II tournament.  Dordt has since defeated Cal Maritime, 63-54, and most recently, Warner Pacific, 77-70.  They have had 11 wins and only one loss dating back to January 25^th; their loss came against Northwestern of Iowa in the championship game of the Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament on Feb. 28^th.

In their game against Warner Pacific, DC was led by a 6-for-12, 26 point performance from their junior guard Cliff Warner.  He was aided by Austin Katje (17), Jordan Vogel (14), and Trevor Wolterstorff (10) in double figures.  The Defenders had four of their five starters, Kyle Lindbergh, Katje, Vogel and Wolterstorff with three assists, and two, Vogel and Warner with six rebounds.

The Dordt team went 24-of-45 for a 53.3 percentage from the field.  They also had a good day from the free-throw stripe, making nearly 80 percent of their 24 attempts. 

This season, the Defenders are led in scoring by Wolterstorff who averages 15.09 points per game and has 498 for the season.  Vogel (13.27) and Warner (12.73) are the second and third leading scorers for the team; Warner is also shooting 46.5 percent from three-point range and 84.6 from the charity stripe.  DC’s two big men, Vogel and Lindbergh are each averaging close to seven rebounds per game at 7.06 and 6.73, respectively. 

The Defenders are averaging 81.242 points per game, ranking them 15^th in the NAIA-II and second in the GPAC.  They are shooting the ball 51.4 percent from the field, 71.7 from the charity stripe and 39.9 from deep.  DC is grabbing 37.97 rebounds each contest and only giving up 29.97.  Dordt has made 463 assists on the year for a 14.03 per game average.

After their matchup with McPherson, if they win, they will play on Monday at 6 p.m. (CT)