Men's Basketball | 10/28/2013 5:33:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – The sky is the limit for the 2013-14 McPherson College men's basketball team as they return four returning starters from their KCAC Tournament Championship squad. Despite getting pegged fourth in the preseason polls, Bulldog basketball has all the tools required for another championship run. Game one of the year will be played in Lawrence, Kansas as the 'Dogs square off against the Indians of Haskell at 7:30 p.m. (CT)
The 15-18 record from last year doesn't do the 2012-13 season justice. For those of you who forgot, the Bulldogs went into the conference postseason tournament as the eighth seed following a rough stretch of games at the beginning of their season. Mac took the underdog title and ran with it, knocking of KCAC Regular Season Champion University of Saint Mary 91-82 in overtime. Three days later they took down fourth seed, and heavy favorite to win the tournament, Friends Falcons 81-80 on a buzzer-beater. Next up was No. 3 Sterling College whom the Bulldogs dismantled for the 87-80 championship.
"The bulk of our top players are returning from a year ago," said head men's basketball coach Tim Swartzendruber. "Certainly it's made our practices good, they've been very competitive and very upbeat. I think just having many players in the system makes for a good start for the season. I've enjoyed working with them thus far."
Highlighting the list of players back are seniors Samson Shivers, Devirous Johnson, Darius Hill, and Joey Powers. Shivers is less than 500 points shy of the McPherson College record for total points in a career; something to keep an eye on for the season as he has averaged close to 600 a year since his freshman year.
A newcomer for this season but not to the Bulldog faithful is Kenny Berry Jr. Berry was the 2011-12 KCAC Freshman of the Year after his season with McPherson College, which was cut short by 11 games due to an injury. After spending 2012-13 at another institution he brings back some swagger to the point guard position of Mac. Guards TJ Grant and Erik DeRoo transferred in to help out McPherson's backcourt.
Following their game against Haskell, MC is at home for their next two contests. The first is on November 2nd as they take on Johnson and Wales University of Denver, Colorado; tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
Scouting Haskell Indian Nations
The Haskell men's squad went 6-23 a year ago getting their wins sporadically throughout the season; a 12-game losing skid in the middle of the season did not help the young HINU squad.
Despite winning just four conference games, the Indians ranked in the middle of the pack of the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference. They averaged 70.66 points per game with a good deal of their points coming from behind the arc where they made 35.8% of their attempts. Haskell hit on 41.7% from the field and 68% from the line. Using their height, HINU tallied a MCAC leading 39.31 rebounds per contest with 10+ coming off the offensive glass.
Last season's top two leading scorers return for Haskell. Ron Rousseau, the 6-8 center, is back for his junior year after averaging 10.7 points and 9.2 rebounds a contest. Stand Lovato brings back 48 three-balls and 10.2 points an outing. Point guard Grant Proctor and shooting guard Ray Walker add a senior presence to the squad; they averaged close to five points apiece last year.
Intriguing newcomers for HINU include 6-10 freshman center from Oklahoma. Time will tell if the youngster can add anything to a veteran team.
Haskell travels down to Southwestern College for their next competition. They play on November 5th in Winfield.
