Men's Basketball | 2/6/2014 10:49:00 PM
Box Score
Wichita, Kan. – Despite getting 22 points from point guard
TJ Grant, MC was not able to pull off the comeback on Thursday, dropping a 93-87 contest to the Friends University Falcons. Mac moves to 12-13 on the year and 5-8 against their KCAC opponents.
"We just dug ourselves too deep a hole," said McPherson head coach Tim Swartzendruber. "I was proud of how we competed and came back. We need to bounce back and be ready to go Saturday versus Tabor."
The Falcons started the game hot, quickly getting up by double-digits and then increasing their lead to 15 by the midway point of the half; the Friends advantage peaked at 20 points, coming twice in the final 10 minutes. MC put together a run to close out the half and headed into their locker room trailing by seven at 38-31.
The 'Dogs made 10-of-25 from the field in the first period but hit just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc; they converted on 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Friends shot the ball very well, making 53% of their field goals, 10-of-19, including five from range; they saw only three of their seven foul shots go through the hoop.
Friends dropped in a three-ball to start the second half, pushing their lead back to 10+ for the next several minutes; Mac made a couple surges to get it back to single figures but a 10-0 run by the Falcons put FU ahead 19 with just over 10 minutes to play. After trailing 16 with 4:33 showing on the clock, McPherson began their comeback push, clawing back and getting as close as five a couple of times with the first coming with a minute and a half to play. The clubs traded baskets and free throws in the final minute ending with Friends on top 93-87.
The Bulldogs dropped in 64 percent of their second period shot attempts, 21-of-33, including 3-of-7 from deep; they were 5-of-9 from the stripe. Friends counted 11-of-19 from the floor with 3-of-7 three balls dropping; they also made 24 of their 31 free throws.
MC closed out the night shooting a 53.0 field goal percentage, watching 31-of-58 fall through the net; 4-of-13 from downtown and 13-of-19 from the foul line were bucketed by the 'Dogs. They pulled in 42 rebounds with 16 being on the offensive side of the court; the team scored 20 of their total points off of second chance attempts. 17 assists, 11 turnovers, four steals and two blocks were tabulated by Bulldog basketball.
Grant's (South Bend, Ind.) 22 points led the way for Mac as he hit on 8-of-11 from the field with 1-of-2 dropping from long range and 3-of-5 going in from the stripe; the junior also tallied a team-high six assists. Devirous Johnson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 17 to put him second on the team; his 13 boards put him as the career leader for McPherson College for rebounds in a season and just one shy of tying the record for most rebounds in two seasons. Samson Shivers (Houston, Texas) and Brian (BJ) Johnson (Kansas City, Kan.) each totaled 10 points for McPherson; both players made four field goals and two free throws. Erik DeRoo (Tyler, Texas) scored on 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line for his nine points.
The next outing for the 'Dogs is Pink Out Night in McPherson as they host the Tabor College Blue Jays this Saturday, February 8; tipoff for JV is at 3:00 p.m. while the varsity squad is set to start at 7:00
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