Men's Basketball | 1/27/2014 4:55:00 PM
Live Video
Live Stats
Live Audio
McPherson, Kan. – Mac basketball has now won two-straight and look to make it a streak on Wednesday as they take on the University of Saint Mary Spires; start time on January 29
th is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Saturday's game between the Bulldogs and Bethel was all McPherson from the get-go. MC was ahead six early and then got up by 15 around the midway point of the half. The Threshers roared back and got it to a six-point game at halftime, trailing 29-23. The 'Dogs went 11-of-27 from the floor but 0-of-6 from the three-point line; the team connected on 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
In the second period, Mac began constructing their lead and it reached 16 before BC got it back down to nine. After their lack of defensive, McPherson pushed again and got ahead by 20 points for the final minutes, winning 73-48. The Bulldogs scored on 15-of-30 but made zero of their four three-point field goals; they didn't do terrific from the foul line but made just enough, 14-of-23. Bethel converted on 10-of-32 with only one of their seven from deep dropping in; they went 3-of-9 from the free throw stripe.
MC closed out the contest shooting 45.6% from the floor, 26-of-57, missing all 10 of their three-point attempts; they converted 21-of-31 from the foul stripe for a 67.7 percentage. 53 rebounds were pulled down by the 'Dogs with just nine coming off the offensive glass. They logged 17 turnovers, 10 in the first half, 15 assists, six steals and a block.
Johnson won the rebounding title with his 20 boards, 18 came on the defensive side of the court; he scored 13 for another double-double on 6-of-10 from the field and 1-of-1 from the stripe. Brian (BJ) Johnson scored a game-high 21 points, making 8-of-20 field goals and 5-of-8 free throws; he also dished out a team-high four assists, tying him with D. Johnson and TJ Grant. Joey Powers and Erik DeRoo each tallied nine points with DeRoo scoring seven of his from the foul line.
McPherson in the National Rankings: The squad is in 8th of the NAIA in Total Rebounds with 912 and 11th in Rebounds per Game with 41.455; they rank 13th in offensive boards and 16th in defensive with 13.364 and 28.091, respectively. Mac is 24th in total assists at 325 dimes on the season. D Johnson currently leads the NAIA in Double-Doubles, 15, Total Rebounds, 277, Rebounds per Game, 12.591, and Defensive Rebounds per Game, 8.455; he is second in offensive boards a contest with 4.136.
Scouting MC: The 'Dogs enter Wednesday's contest with an even 11-11 record, going 4-6 against the KCAC. They make an average of 82.1 points per game, tallying a 44.3 field goal percentage; they cash in on over five threes per contest, converting on 27.1 percent from downtown. The squad tabs 41.5 rebounds a night and has a positive rebounding margin of 3.7; they average 14.7 assists, 13.2 turnovers, 5.5 steals and 2.9 blocks. In their games with the KCAC, Mac is totaling 74.7 points per game while surrendering 74.1 to their opponents; the team logs a 43.0 shooting percentage with 23.5 percent falling from distance. Their 42.5 rebounds per game rank first amongst the conference; they are third in rebounding margin at 5.1. The club is third in blocks a game, 3.3, second in assists, 15.2, and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.13.
McPherson travels to Sterling, Kansas to play the Warriors on February 1st; junior varsity is set for 3:00 p.m. with varsity commencing at 7:00
Scouting Saint Mary
USM has had a very up and down season, never winning more than three-straight but not losing back-to-back; they are 13-7 overall and 7-3 against the KCAC, losing to Friends, Bethany and Tabor. In their most recent conference contest, the Spires took out Southwestern 74-70 in Winfield.
Saint Mary had an impressive first half, leading 41-30 heading into the locker room. The Moundbuilders were not about to blown out in their gym and pushed back in the second period but could not overcome their deficit, losing 74-70. The Spires made 24-of-46 from the field with 5-of-16 going through from behind the three-point line; they connected on 21-of-33 from the stripe. USM grabbed just 29 boards with only six coming off the offensive glass. They totaled 13 turnovers, an impressive 21 assists, five steals and one block in their victory.
Grant Greenburg continued his scoring show, tabbing a game-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting with 3-of-6 free throws dropping; he also had four assists. Torren Dowdy played well for the Spires, counting 26 points on 6-of-12 from the floor and 13-of-16 from the stripe. Also making it to double-digits was Shiron Williams as he tallied 10 on five field goals; he grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and six assists.
On the year, Saint Mary is scoring 81.2 points a night and has a scoring margin of 4.85; they convert on 46.7 percent of their field goals while draining an average of 8.2 three balls with a 35.7 conversion percentage. Despite having an average of just 31.8 rebounds a contest, they have a negative rebounding margin of only 1.5. 14.5 assists, 13.75 turnovers, 6.45 steals and 2.75 blocks are logged each time out. In their 10 conference competitions, USM makes 46.1 percent from the floor for an average of 77.8 points; they are best in the KCAC in scoring defense at 72 points allowed per game. While being tops of the NAIA D-II, their 76.7 free throw percentage leads the league and they rank in the middle of the conference in blocks, 2.9, assists, 14.8, and steals, 6.1.
Greenburg is third in the Nation in scoring offense with his 27.25 points per game average; he has made 161 field goals with a team-high 35 from distance. Making 188-of-217, Greenburg also ranks in the top-15 in free throw percentage at 86.6 and grabs a team leading 4.8 boards a night. Dowdy is scoring 14.1 a contest, shooting in 45.8 percent of his shots; he has tabulated a team-high 61 assists on the year. Jerry Sipple, who hasn't played since mid-December, is the final Spire to average 10+ with his 11.4 points per game.
Saint Mary will host Friends University on Saturday for their next competition.
