McPherson, Kan. – In their second game of the Hastings College Classic, the McPherson College men's basketball team lost 67-50 to NAIA D-I Doane College. The loss moves Mac to 3-6 on the year and the team will head into KCAC play on a five-game losing streak.
It was slow scoring for the first few minutes between the Tigers and Bulldogs as the two clubs struggled to get going. Once the balls began dropping, Doane took the lead and went up by a handful. Trailing seven with 4:28 left in the half, McPherson went cold as they didn't make another bucket the rest of the way; they committed three turnovers and missed all three field goal opportunities along with a pair of free throws. DC took a 36-16 lead into the locker room. The 'Dogs were 7-of-21 in the first half and missed all five threes while Doane knocked down 14-of-31 field goals.
Mac hit their first shot of the second half and the Tigers again struggled to make their shots in the opening minutes, giving McPherson a chance to break back in. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs too had a rough time putting points on the board. Doane stayed ahead by 20+ for all but three minutes of the final period and cruised to the 67-50 win. MC improved their shooting percentage as 12-of-32 shots fell through in the second 20; they continued to have issues behind the arc (4-of-13) and at the foul line (6-of-11). The Tigers converted on 12-of-25 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the stripe.
McPherson ended the contest hitting 19-of-53 from the field including 4-of-18 from downtown; they connected on a mere 53.3% from the free throw line, 8-of-15. The 'Dogs rebounded 31 balls including 11 on the offensive end. The team tabbed 15 turnovers, eight blocks, five steals, and just four assists.
Darius Hill again led MC in scoring with his 16 points on 8-of-15 field goals; he also recorded 10 rebounds, a pair of steals and two blocks in his team-high 31 minutes played. DeAndre Henson entered the game from the bench and scored 14; he made 3-of-5 from two-point land, 2-of-5 from deep, and 2-of-5 from the stripe. Page Beeler didn't score any points but made his presence known on the defensive end as he blocked away a career-high six shots.
Conference play and Bethany College await McPherson as they begin competition against the KCAC on the road on December 4th with tipoff commencing at 8:00 p.m. (CT) in Lindsborg.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
