Sioux City, Iowa – The No. 14 team in the NAIA D-II performed like it on Monday night as they took down McPherson College 85-53 in the Morningside Holiday Classic; Morningside shot in 53.5% from the floor and drained 14-of-30 three pointers.
"For around 25 minutes we competed with one of the top teams in the country," said Coach Swartzendruber. "Unfortunately, when they got rolling we couldn't stop them; they are the best team we have played this season. We need to regroup and be ready for a Briar Cliff team that is very similar to Morningside."
In the opening half of Monday's contest, McPherson scored first but trailed by a handful for most of the period. The Morningside lead peaked at 11 points around the midway point. Mac put in the half's final four points and saw themselves down 38-31 at the break. The 'Dogs scored on 12-of-32 from the floor and bucketed 3-of-7 from deep; they hit on just 4-of-9 free throws. The Mustangs knocked down 50% of their 26 field goals and counted 6-of-13 three balls.
McPherson battled back in in the opening stages of the second and brought the score within six points five minutes into the half. Unfortunately a 15-0 run by the Mustangs put Morningside ahead by 22 points just a few minutes later. Mac stayed down 20+ for the rest of the half, losing 85-53. The Bulldogs struggled scoring in the second period, making just 7-of-26 field goals and missed all six three-point attempts. Morningside upped their field goal percentage to 56.3 (18-of-32) and stayed hot from downtown with 8-of-17 dropping.
After it was all said and done, McPherson shot in 19-of-58 from the floor and went 3-of-12 from distance; they connected on 12-of-24 free throws. 37 rebounds were recorded by MC including 13 on the offensive end. They netted 11 turnovers, eight steals, and seven assists. The Bulldogs scored just 18 points in the paint.
Senior forward Darius Hill led Mac in both scoring and rebounding with his 19 points and nine rebounds; he went 9-of-18 from the floor and was 1-of-3 from the stripe. TJ Grant bucketed 2-of-6 field goals and 7-of-11 free throws for his 11; he also recorded eight rebounds and five assists. Chris Crook added in 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from the line. Page Beeler tabbed eight rebounds, tying him with Grant for second highest on the team.
The Bulldogs will take on No. 24 Briar Cliff University tomorrow, December 30th in their final game of the Holiday Classic; start time is set for 3:00 p.m. (CT)
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
