Men's Basketball | 2/20/2014 11:42:00 PM
Box Score
McPherson, Kan. – It was definitely Senior Night in the Sport Center at McPherson College as the four 'Dogs that were playing their final game in a Mac uniform accounted for 65 of the team's 107 points as MC took down rival Bethany College 107-93. The Bulldogs are now 14-15 on the year and 7-10 in the KCAC, tying them for seventh in the conference with Southwestern who they play on Saturday.
"I am so happy for our seniors," said Coach Swartzendruber. "They deserved to have a game like this. They work hard and have had so many close loses. Certainly we hope this is the spark we need to keep rolling into the conference tourney."
The Swedes controlled the opening period and started the game off hitting most of their shots; Mac kept things tight and even had the lead a couple times but by the midway point of the half, BC had amassed a near double figure advantage and completely controlled the pace of play. Trailing nine, which was their largest deficit of the night, the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run to tie things up with eight minutes left in the period. It stayed closed for the rest of the period and MC went into the break up one thanks to a buzzer-beating three pointer by D'Onte Woods; the high scoring first half ended at 45-44.
Both teams shot the ball very well in the opening 20 minutes. The 'Dogs knocked down 17-of-35 with 6-of-15 three balls falling through; they counted 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. Bethany put 19 of their 35 field goals through the net with 5-of-11 going down from distance; the team made their lone free throw attempt. The MC seniors totaled 34 first half points.
The Terrible Swedes scored the first bucket of the second period, giving them the lead but Mac took it back on the next possession and would not relinquish their advantage the rest the way. The Bulldogs were up by a handful for the first several minutes but got up by 10+ with 12:40 showing on the scoreboard; MC stayed ahead by double-digits for the next five minutes with the peak of their lead being 18. Bethany did not go down without a fight and had a couple charges late and, after a lot of fouling and good breaks, saw themselves trailing by nine with 53 seconds to play. Fortunately, McPherson scored the final five points of the night, giving them the 107-93 victory.
18-of-32 shots found the bottom of the Bulldogs' net including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc; they also converted on an impressive 21-of-28 from the foul line. BC dropped in 17 of their 29 field goals but was only 1-of-8 from deep; the team put 14-of-19 free throws through the net.
McPherson shot in 52.2 percent of their field goals, 35-of-67, with 11-of-25 three balls finding the bottom of the net; they went 26-of-36 from the stripe in the 40-minute contest. The 'Dogs killed it on the boards, grabbing 40 to Bethany's 27; 15 of Mac's rebounds came off the offensive glass. MC tallied 58 points in the paint, 20 being second chance buckets and 16 coming on the fast break.
TJ Grant (South Bend, Ind.) scored 25 points in the second half to lead all scorers with his career-high 27 for the game as he put 8-of-13 field goals through including 3-of-4 from range as well as knocking down 8-of-11 free throws; the junior dished out nine dimes and also recorded seven rebounds. Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) netted 26 on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 from the charity stripe. Starting for the first time this season, Woods (Houston, Texas) scored 24, making 10-of-16 from the floor including 3-of-6 from deep; he was 1-of-2 from the line and also tabbed six rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Devirous Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 10 to the effort, making 3-of-6 field goals and all four free throws; he also grabbed 12 rebounds for his 21st double-double of the season. The final Bulldog senior, Erik DeRoo (Tyler, Texas), was 1-of-4 from deep and 2-of-2 from the line.
Saturday's game at Southwestern is a big one for Mac as the winner gets the seventh seed in the upcoming KCAC Postseason Tournament and the loser is faced with taking on the conference regular season champion in round one of the tourney. Start time for February 22nd's outing is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (CT) in Winfield, Kansas.
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