Men's Basketball | 2/26/2014 3:38:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference post season tournament is set to get underway for men's basketball on February 27
th and the Bulldogs, as they drew the No. 7 seed, will take on No. 2 Sterling College on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (CT)
The 'Dogs have played Sterling twice this season, going 0-2. In their home contest, the game was pushed into overtime after Mac gave up a five-point lead with 12 seconds to play; SC led for four minutes of the five minute overtime period, winning 81-77. At the Warriors' place, Bulldog basketball couldn't hit a shot and Sterling seemed to see everything going down; as such, the outcome went the way of the home squad 71-58.
Scouting McPherson
The 15-15 Bulldogs put up 79.8 points on average while making 44.7% from the floor and 30.4 from distance; the team has a positive scoring margin of 1.067 through their 30 games. One of the top rebounding teams in the Nation, Mac grabs 40.833 a night, 15th in the NAIA D-II; they have an average of 13.733 offensive boards a night which is ninth best in the country. The team also tabs 15.2 assists, 12.8 turnovers, 5.5 steals and 2.5 assists each time out. In just their 18 conference games, MC scores 79.78 with 44.2 percent of their field goals dropping through; they allow 78.0 to their opponent giving them a scoring margin of 0.78. The 'Dogs are ninth best in free throw and three-point percentage at 66.6 and 31.1, respectively. They are second on the list in rebounds with a 41.0 average; the squad nets 15.7 assists, 12.7 turnovers, 5.61 steals and 2.5 blocks every time out.
Current McPherson College career-points record holder Samson Shivers leads the Bulldog offense with his 17.2 average; he has hit 76 three balls on the year and also leads the team with his 153 free throw makes. Devirous Johnson scores 14 on average and tabs a team-high 12.1 rebounds; he is the top rebounder in the NAIA D-II and has 20 double-doubles on the year which also leads the Nation. The final 'Dog to get over 10 each time out is Brian (BJ) Johnson who nets 13.6; he has 111 assists on the year and is shooting 43.6 percent from the floor. Role players TJ Grant, D'Onte Woods and Erik DeRoo have come on strong as of late to propel MC into a 3-1 record over their past four outings.
The winner of the McPherson, Sterling game will take on the winner of the No. 3 Bethany College vs. No. 6 Ottawa University contest; that competition is set for March 1st at 7:00 p.m. at the highest remaining seed.
Scouting Sterling
The 22-7 Warriors have had a couple nice streaks on the year, going nine in a row back in December/January and then winning seven-straight spanning mid-January through February. SC has been in a funk as of late, going 2-2 over their last four outings with losses coming to the No. 1 and No. 4 teams of the conference.
Sterling knocks down 43.9 percent of their field goals and scores 86.9 per game; they bucket close to 10 three-point tries a night, shooting in 36.6% from range. 39.6 balls are pulled off the glass on average; the team also totals 13.2 assists, 11.1 turnovers, 6.5 steals and 2.8 blocks each time they hit the court. In their conference battles where they are 14-4, SC tabulates 85.17 points a contest and allow 81.06 for a positive scoring margin of 4.11; they count 42% from the field and 34.8 from beyond the arc. The squad logs a fourth highest 38.61 rebounds every game along with 13.0 assists, 10.56 turnovers, 6.56 steals and 2.72 blocks.
Eddie Adesodun is scoring a team-high 17.8 every time out and has made 70 three balls and 156 free throws on the year, both are tops of the Warriors. Next up is Braden Thompson who averages 16.8; he has drained a team leading 165 field goals and shoots in 43.9 percent of his attempts. Darius Alexander also gets over 10 regularly as he tallies 14.8 a night; the 5-11 guard is Sterling's top rebounder, pulling down 5.5 on average. Brandon Givens is the final SC player to net an average of 10+ with his 10.3ppg; he is shooting in 87.6 percent from the foul stripe to lead his team.
Sterling either needs to win the KCAC tournament or have Friends win as if the regular season champion wins the post season tourney, the regular season runner-up gets to head to Nationals
