Men's Basketball | 2/7/2014 5:52:00 PM
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McPherson, Kan. – McPherson basketball will take the court on Saturday, February 8 for Pink Out Night with the opponent being Tabor College who had their previous game postponed due to a fire in the gym. The evening starts with men's junior varsity at 3:00; the varsity men hit the court at 7:00 p.m.
Mac is coming off a tough night with the Friends Falcons, attempting the come from behind win but falling just short. The 'Dogs fell behind early as they were experimenting with a new, smaller lineup; Friends jumped in front by as many as 20 in the opening period. As the halftime buzzer sounded, MC, following a late surge, was behind 38-31. McPherson hit on 11-of-31 with just 1-of-6 falling from deep they made eight of their 10 free throws. The Falcons connected on over 50% from the floor with five three balls; they struggled from the stripe, making just 3-of-7.
FU led by double-digits for most of the second period but the score-gap never reached the 20-point mark. Mac trailed by 16 with less than five to play and slowly pulled within five but never close enough to take the lead. Friends hit their foul shots late to hold off the 'Dogs for the 93-87 win. MC knocked down 24-of-40 with three from long range; they also counted 5-of-9 from the charity stripe. The Falcons logged 14-of-26 including 3-of-7 from downtown; they made it to the free throw line for 31 attempts, making 24.
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.
TJ Grant's 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 scored 17 to put him second on the team; he also tabbed 13 rebounds. Samson Shivers and Brian (BJ) Johnson each totaled 10 points for McPherson; both players made four field goals and two free throws. Eric DeRoo scored on 3-of-5 from behind the three-point line for his nine points.
McPherson in the National Rankings: The rebounding continues for Mac as they are seventh in the NAIA in Total Rebounds with 1041; they sit 10th in Offensive Rebounds per game (13.6), 13th in Total Rebounds per game (41.64), and 16th in Defensive Rebounds per game (28.04). The team ranks 24th in Total Assists with 365. D. Johnson remains the Nation leader in rebounds with 311 Total Rebounds; he is also first in Defensive Rebounds a night (8.4) and Toatl Rebounds a game (12.44) while sitting second in Offensive Rebounds per contest (4.04).
Scouting the Bulldogs: The 12-13 MC basketball squad is scoring 77.64 points a night with 44% of their field goals dropping through; they have a positive scoring margin of 0.52. The team buckets 65.4 percent from the stripe and 26.8% from deep. They board 41.64 each time out to go along with their 14.6 assists, 13.1 turnovers, 5.24 steals and 2.7 blocks. In their KCAC contests, the 'Dogs score 74.23 while allowing 74.62, third best in the league; they score on 42.6 percent from the field and a conference worst 23.7 from long range. The team's 42.62 rebounds a night is second in the KCAC, as is their rebounding margin of 4.85. Mac leads the conference in assists per game at 14.77.
A trip to Salina, Kansas is the next outing for Bulldog basketball as they square off with the Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan University on February 13th; tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. with JV playing at 4:00
Scouting Tabor
The Blue Jays are one game short of the rest of the KCAC, aside from Sterling College, as a fire broke out in SC's gym before the two teams could get their game underway on Thursday night. As such, TC will be coming off seven days of rest heading into their bout with the 'Dogs; the latest game for Tabor came against the Threshers of Bethel College on the 2nd with Tabor winning handedly 99-75.
The Blue Jays are netting 80.3 a night and have a positive scoring margin of 2.79; they bucket 46.2% of their field goals and 33.2 percent from range. They are hauling in 38 rebounds each time out and tab 15 turnovers, 13 assists, 8.7 steals and 2.4 blocks. In their conference games, TC scores 79.33 every time they touch the court, shooting in 47.5 percent from the floor and 31.3 from distance. The team primarily plays a zone defense and holds their opponents to 77.62 points on 41.7 percent shooting, third best in the KCAC. They tab 37.33 rebounds, 13.5 assists, and a league-high 9.75 steals on average.
Dewayne Biggs is the team's leading scorer as he's banked 371 points on the year, averaging 16.1; he makes 44.9 percent from the floor and has accumulated a team-high 125 free throw makes and 82 assists. Next up is international forward Andrew Thomas who nets 14.1 a night; he scored 59.6 percent of his field goals while pulling in a team leading 7.2 rebounds each time out. Lance Carter is the final 'Jay to hit double figures regularly with his 10.3 average; he leads the squad in steals with 32 on the year. JT Nemit is the top three-point shooter for Tabor, making 27 in his 23 games.
The next game for the Blue Jays will most likely be against the Sterling Warriors early next week; the next scheduled contest, however, is a home contest against Ottawa University.
