Men's Basketball | 1/12/2013 10:03:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – After a dreadful first 20 minutes, the Bulldogs nearly pulled off a 20-point comeback, losing 66-61 to the Sterling College Warriors. MC moves to 7-12 overall and 1-7 in the KCAC.
Another slow start plagued McPherson as the Warriors got up by 10 points in less than four minutes of play. SC kept their advantage of 10+ for all but six minutes of the game’s opening period and got up by as many as 20 which is how the half ended with a 37-17 score line.
An alarming 19.4 percent of MC’s field goals made it through the net in the first period as they made just 6-of-31 from the floor with two three balls; they hit three of their four free throw attempts. Darius Hill (Kansas City, Kan.) was responsible for 1/3 of McPherson’s points, scoring six. Sterling converted on 50% of their shots, draining 14-of-28 which included 6-of-14 from deep; the Warriors also made 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. SC padded their rebounding stats, taking advantage of the Bulldogs’ shooting misfortunes as they grabbed 24 in the first 20 minutes.
The second half was much more intense as Mac started clawing away the lead, slowly but surely bringing them closer. By the 10-minute mark, MC had pulled within six points and was the aggressor; back-to-back baskets by SC increased their lead back to double-digits which is where it hung around for the next five minutes. Another surge by the Bulldogs got the score margin to two points with 3:05 showing on the clock. A short while later, a double technical foul on one of Sterling’s players gave McPherson a chance to again get within two points; a 3-of-4 shooting by Mason Hewitt (Norwich, Kan.) and two free throws by Warrior player Raheem Odomes put SC up by five points with just 20 seconds left. Two missed shots by McPherson gave SC the 66-61 victory.
The Bulldogs shot the ball much better in the second half as they made 50% of their attempts, cashing in on 17-of-34 from the field with five buckets from long range; they made just 5-of-8 from the stripe in the period. Sterling stayed consistent from the field, bucketing 11-of-27 but only hitting 1-of-8 from behind the arc; they had a poor free throw percentage, 42.9, but it was enough to hold off McPherson.
MC was 23-of-65 from the floor for the game and converted on 7-of-27 from distance; they shot right around their season average from the charity stripe, making 8-of-12. The Warriors improved their season average from the field, making 45.5 percent of their shots and also hit seven three pointers; a poor night from the free throw line, 9-of-18, was logged by SC. The Bulldogs were slightly outrebounded by Sterling as the Warriors pulled down 42 boards to MC’s 37.
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) came alive in the second half, scoring all of his 16 points; he ended the contest 6-of-16 from the floor, 4-of-11 from downtown and 0-of-1 from the stripe. Hill closed out the game with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds; he was 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. Hewitt was the final Bulldog in double figures scoring as he bucketed 11 points. Adam Bruner (McPherson, Kan.) tallied a game-high five steals to go along with his nine points.
Odomes was impossible to stop down the stretch and wound up with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from the charity stripe. The only other Warrior to hit double-digits scoring was Eddie Adesodun who had 11. Adam Brown made it to double figures in rebounds as he grabbed 10 in his team’s win.
A special Wednesday night contest will be the next competition for McPherson as they travel to North Newton, Kan., for an 8:00 p.m. (CT) matchup against the 2-17, 0-8 Bethel College Threshers.
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