Men's Basketball | 1/4/2014 11:44:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – It took 50 minutes but the men's basketball squad at McPherson College came away with a win over Haskell Indian Nations University by a score of 112-105. The W snaps a four-game skid for the Bulldogs, putting them at an even 8-8 on the year; they are 7-5 in non-conference play.
After a low scoring first five minutes of the opening half, MC turned the heat up and pushed ahead by 15 with just over eight to play. Mac's lead stayed in the double-digit realm until the final two minutes when a 9-2 run by the Indians pulled them within four at the break, 42-38.
The 'Dogs drained 14-of-26 in the first period with 6-of-13 falling from behind the three-point line; they also connected on 8-of-11 from the stripe. Haskell, scoring 17 off their bench, tabbed a 50% shooting percentage as 16-of-32 shots fell; 5-of-11 three balls and 1-of-3 foul shots were bucketed by HINU in the game's first 20 minutes. MC's
Samson Shivers started the game hot, scoring 22 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting with five from long range and all three of his fouls shots going in.
In the second 20 minutes, McPherson stayed ahead but by less than five as they were unable to put the game away. The Indians put together a quick five-point run to take the lead for the first time since the 19-minute mark of the first half with eight to play in regulation. The two squads would go back and forth for the next several minutes with multiple ties and lead changes. With two minutes to go, the game was even at 81-81. A 1-of-2 showing from the foul line by Mac put them up by one with 1:29 on the clock. After a pair of turnovers, Haskell was fouled and went to the stripe for two shots, which both fell through. Just 19 seconds remained and when the 'Dogs got the ball back and a hard drive to the rim put
Brian (BJ) Johnson on the line for a chance at the win; he would hit one of the two attempts to send the game into overtime.
In the first OT, Haskell led or held a tie for all but the final nine seconds. Shivers made it to the line twice, courtesy of a technical foul by the Indians, and converted on 3-of-4 to put MC up three with eight seconds to play. A flying three pointer by HINU tied things up with just a couple ticks left and a last second desperation three by the Bulldogs was off target, bringing about a second overtime.
In what turned out to be the final period of the game, it was all McPherson. The Bulldogs were on top for all but 14 seconds and got up by as many as nine, coming with 1:05 showing. After making three of their final four free throws, the 'Dogs came away with a 112-105 double OT victory.
In the last 30 minutes of the contest, Mac shot in 21-of-40 from the field for a 52.5 percentage; they scored just 2-of-7 threes but drained 26-of-36 from the stripe. HINU made 25-of-53 with 6-of-14 from deep and 11-of-17 from the free throw line going through.
The 'Dogs shot an impressive 53% from the floor for the game as 35-of-66 field goals were counted; they converted 8-of-20 from beyond the arc and made 72.3 percent from the foul line, 34-of-47. Losing the battle inside is an irregularity for McPherson but that happened on Saturday as Haskell, aided by their three trees, pulled down 49 rebounds compared to Mac's 37. The Bulldogs were +5 in the assist-to-turnover category as they netted 16 and 11, respectively; they also had four steals and two blocks on the night.
Scoring a career-high,
Johnson (Kansas City, Kan.) cashed in on 11-of-15 from the floor and 14-of-21 from the free throw line; he also tallied 12 rebounds and a team leading seven assists. A career second-best 34 points were tallied by
Shivers (Houston, Texas) who ended the game with 10-of-19 shots making their way in with 6-of-13 from range and 8-of-9 from the stripe being counted; the senior is now 167 points off the all-time career scoring record for McPherson College.
Devirous Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished out the "big three" for Mac on Saturday as he logged 26 points and a team-high 13 rebounds; he was 8-of-14 from the field and 10-of-13 from the line. D. Johnson now has an impressive 11 double-doubles this season and continues to lead the NAIA in rebounds, averaging 12.7 per game.
TJ Grant (South Bend, Ind.) entered the game off the bench for MC and scored nine on 3-of-4 shooting with a pair of free throws.
It's off to Hillsboro, Kansas for the next contest for the 'Dogs as KCAC play kicks back up; Mac will play Tabor College on January 9
th at 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Make sure to follow Bulldog Nation on
Facebook (MCathletics) and
Twitter (@MAC_Bulldogs)
