Men's Basketball | 1/11/2014 11:21:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – Despite an ugly first half, Bulldog basketball came out triumphant on Saturday, taking down Kansas Wesleyan University 77-73. After the win, MC is at .500 for the season at 9-9 and is 2-4 against the KCAC.
It was a very physical first 20 minutes and that worked to the advantage of the Coyotes as they handled the 'Dogs on both sides of the court. Mac had a tough time finding holes in the Kansas Wesleyan 2-3 zone and couldn't seem to stop KWU's offensive attack, which consisted of mainly shots from behind the arc. The 'Yotes led for the entire first half with their largest lead of 17 coming with 8:23 showing on the clock. McPherson got it as close as nine after that but headed into the locker room down 13 at 45-32.
MC didn't shoot terrible in the first half after they found their rhythm; they made 11-of-32 with 2-of-8 from distance and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Kansas Wesleyan, however, had a near 50% shooting performance as they nailed 17-of-36 from the field with 7-of-15 from deep drop in; they also converted on 4-of-6 foul shots. Both teams had a player reach 14 points in the first half; Mac's
Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and 3-of-7 from the floor for his.
In the second, the 'Dogs began chipping away at their deficit but had trouble breaking into single digits for good; the Coyote lead hung around the 10-point margin for most of the half. Back-to-back makes from deep by McPherson got them within three with eight to play and from then on, it was a close ballgame. Kansas Wesleyan continued to hold off the Bulldogs, keeping them at arm's length until a fastbreak bucket by Shivers tied things with two minutes to play. After a KWU score, Shivers knocked in a pair of free throws to tie things up again with only 49 seconds left. A 1-of-2 showing from the stripe by the Coyotes allowed MC their first chance at the lead which they got on a
Kenny Berry Jr. floater. McPherson would score the game's final three points on 3-of-4 from the free throw line, giving them a hard earned 77-73 victory.
Mac connected on 14-of-35 from the field including 4-of-14 from beyond the arc; they made an impressive 13-of-15 from the charity stripe in the game's final 20. Kansas Wesleyan, who played one of their best games of the season, counted 10-of-31 with three from range; they struggled from the foul line as they knocked in just 5-of-12.
The 'Dogs scored on 25-of-67 in Saturday's contest (37.3%) and bucketed 6-of-22 from downtown; 87.5% of their free throws (21-of-24) found the bottom of the net in the win. It was a low rebounding game as McPherson led the way with 34; 13 came on the offensive end of the court. After having seven turnovers in the first half, Mac tightened things down and ended the game with just 10 total TOs; they tallied 17 assists, five blocks and four steals. 46 of MC's total points were scored inside the paint and 16 were fast break points.
Shivers closed out the night with 31 points, 14 of which came from the foul line; he was 7-of-18 from the floor and made just 3-of-13 from long range while totaling 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Speaking of double-doubles,
Devirous Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grabbed yet another one as he totaled 15 points and 13 boards; he also had four assists, two steals and a block in his 30 minutes of play. Both
Erik DeRoo (Tyler, Texas) and
TJ Grant (South Bend, Ind.) came off the bench and scored nine; DeRoo's were from three-point range while Grant knocked down 3-of-6 field goals and 3-of-3 foul shots. Senior
D'onte Woods (Houston, Texas) scored four points, had four rebounds and a pair of blocks, one of which was a game-saving rejection.
A trip to Ottawa, Kansas is next on the docket for the 'Dogs as they play the Braves on Thursday, January 16; tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. (CT)
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