Men's Basketball | 1/29/2013 10:58:00 AM
Game Notes
Live Audio
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McPherson, Kan. – The Bulldogs seem to be moving in the right direction as they’ve won two in-a-row and have a chance to extend that to three as they host Southwestern College, losers of four-straight. Game time is 8:00 p.m. (CT) on January 31st in the Sport Center.
The game will 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 with former McPherson basketball coach Roger Trimmell doing the color commentary. Steve Sell will join the broadcast with halftime and postgame insight and analysis. You can also watch the game via ihigh.com/macbulldogs. All links to live game statistics, audio or video can be found at Macbulldogs.com
MC’s most recent victory came against Ottawa University who traveled to McPherson last Saturday. It was a close contest between the two teams in the opening period as neither led by more than five points for the first 14 minutes. Mac, using each possession to its full ability, started to take control at the six-minute mark as they jumped in front by nine points and led 34-28 at halftime.
The Bulldogs got out in front by 10+ early in the second period, leading by as many as 13 in the first five minutes. An 18-5 run by Ottawa tied the score at 52-52 with right under eight minutes left on the clock. MC held their advantage for the next few possessions but another OU run gave the Braves the lead for the first time since the opening half. With two minutes to go, things got intense and every point mattered.
A pair of free throws made by Adam Bruner and a bucket by Devirous Johnson gave MC a 63-60 lead with 1:17 left. Three-straight points by OU tied the game for the seventh time with just 17 seconds to go. A missed attempt from the stripe gave McPherson hope and back-to-back free throw makes by Johnson put the Bulldogs up 65-63 with only four seconds on the clock. Mac’s Bruner stole OU’s inbounds pass but then turned it right back over as he stepped on the sideline, giving Ottawa one last chance. A three-point attempt went deep for the Braves as time expired, putting the ‘Dogs on top 65-63.
23-of-60 field goals found the bottom of the net for MC in the game, nine of those being three point baskets; just 10-of-17 free throws were recorded by the ‘Dogs but they made them when they counted. The Braves hit on 25-of-58 from the floor and 8-of-12 from the stripe; only 5-of-18 makes from distance were logged by OU. Ottawa pulled down 41 rebounds to McPherson’s 36, winning the rebounding title but the Bulldogs out-stole the Braves 14-to-8.
Bruner had one of the best games of his season on Saturday as he scored a game-high 18 points on 6-of-10 from the field with 2-of-2 from deep and 4-of-6 from the stripe; he also grabbed a game leading six steals and had eight rebounds, tops of the team. Sampson Shivers was the next leading scorer for MC as he bucketed 2-of-7 three pointers and 3-of-5 from the free throw line for nine points. Johnson also totaled nine points, making 3-of-3 from the floor and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. It was a team effort for the Bulldogs as nearly every player who hit the court scored.
McPherson will make their final long trip of the season on February 2nd when they travel to Leavenworth, Kansas to square off against the KCAC’s No. 1 University of Saint Mary. Tip off for that Saturday matchup is 5:00 p.m. (CT)
Scouting Southwestern
SWC made it through the first round of conference play with a 5-4 record and seemed to be right where they wanted to be, a couple games out of second but several from last place, right in the mix. Things have since changed for the Builders as they’ve gone 0-3 since the second round picked up. This is reminiscent of last season where they went 8-1 the first time through the KCAC but then 1-8 on their second go-around.
In their most recent loss, Southwestern had a difficult time handling the sharp-shooting Sterling College Warriors as they allowed SC to hit over 50% of their field goals while making just 35.4 percent of their own. Both squads made 5-of-16 from behind the arc and Sterling won the free throw contest as they drained 11 to SWC’s 8. The Moundbuilders did outrebound SC 41-37 and were able to grab 19 offensive boards. The Warriors stole the ball away from Southwestern 11 times and forced five other turnovers.
SWC had one player in double figures, Cameron Clark, who scored a game-high 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe; he also led the team with 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year. Alex Tyler was next on the squad in scoring, making 50% of his eight shot attempts for nine points.
The Builders score the conference’s second highest 76.8 points per outing and are making their shots with 41.9% accuracy. They’ve hit 173 total three pointers and make 7.5 a game while shooting a 34.4 percentage. A KCAC-leading 42.4 rebounds a contest are totaled by SWC and they outrebound their foe by nearly four boards on average. Southwestern steals 6.3 balls an outing while turning it over nearly 15 times.
Clark, despite coming off the bench all season, is leading the team in scoring as he averages 13.6 points per contest while making 47.9 percent of his field goals, third best in the KCAC; he has also made a team-high 78 free throws and pulls down nine rebounds a game, placing him second in the conference. Clark is ranked sixth in the NAIA D-II in offensive rebounds per game with 3.44 and is 12th in total boards, 208. Michael Morales is scoring 12.2 points each time he hits the court and has played a team-high 564 minutes this season, starting every game; he averages 5.6 rebounds a contest. Taylor Johnson averages 11.7 points per game while making a KCAC second highest 2.78 three pointers and is followed by William Tisdale who is totaling 11.5 every time he hits the court.
The Bethany Swedes travel to Winfield, Kansas to take on the Moundbuilders on February 2nd.
