Men's Basketball | 11/19/2013 11:38:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – The bragging rights belong to the Bulldogs for the next year as Mac took out Central Christian College 89-84 in the Sport Center on Tuesday night. After a couple tough losses, this was a much needed win for the 'Dogs as they move to 5-2 on the year.
"This was a good win for us, Central is a good team," said Coach Swartzendruber. "They always rise up and play great against us. I was pleased with how we withstood their late rally. We did a nice job at the FT line and made our possessions count late in the game when they were knocking down threes."
It was a very close first 20 minutes between McPherson and Tiger basketball. There were five lead changes and four ties, making for some good basketball. CCC seemed to be breaking away as an 8-0 run put them in front by six with five minutes to play in the half. The Bulldogs battled back with a 16-to-1 push of their own to close out the period with a 39-30 lead.
Mac made half of their 26 shot attempts with 4-of-7 going in from beyond the arc; after missing their first free throw, they rattled off nine straight, going 9-of-10 in the first period. Central Christian took six more shots than the Bulldogs but made three less; they went 10-of-32 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. MC's Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) bucketed 12 points on a 5-of-8 showing from the floor in the first 20 minutes.
In the second period, McPherson quickly extended their lead to 12 but it was short lived as the Tigers clawed back within five just a few possessions later. An 11-0 surge by the 'Dogs pushed their advantage to 16, bringing about the largest gap between the teams in the game. CCC continued to push and slowly cut into Mac's lead; with five minutes to play, the Tigers were back within striking distance at 70-64. It was a very heated final few but in the end, the Bulldogs hit just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off Central Christian, winning 89-84.
An incredible 60.7 field goal percentage was logged by MC in the final 20 minutes; they were 17-of-28 from the floor with 3-of-7 shots from range falling and 13-of-21 from the free throw line. Central improved to a 47.4 shooting percentage with 8-of-20 three pointers being counted; they were 18-of-38 from the field with 10-of-11 going in from the stripe.
The Bulldogs ended the night making 30-of-54 field goals with 50% of their 14 three balls making their way to the bottom of the net; a 71% free throw percentage was recorded by Mac as they cashed in on 22-of-31. With all the makes in the game, there were few rebounds to be had; MC pulled in 38 but had just nine offensive boards. 19 assists, eight steals and 53 points in the paint were tallied by the 'Dogs in their win.
Shivers ended the night with 27 points making 9-of-13 field goals with 5-of-6 free throws going in. Joey Powers (Welch, Okla.) played well for MC, netting 15 points, six boards and three assists. Brian (BJ) Johnson (Kansas City, Kan.) also hit double-digits with his 13 points as he made half of his 12 shots but was just 1-of-5 from the stripe. Devirous Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) continued to improve on his NAIA second best rebounds per game; he is averaging close to 13 an outing and hauled in 14 on Tuesday while scoring eight points and grabbing three steals.
A difficult Wildcat team from Baker University awaits the Bulldogs as MC travels to Baldwin City, Kansas on November 23rd; tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. (CT)
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