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McPherson, Kan. – On Thursday, the McPherson College men's basketball team will attempt to win back-to-back games for the first time since the opening two games of the season. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. (CT) for the January 15th matchup with Southwestern College.
The Bulldogs won their first home game of the season this past Saturday as they took care of Ottawa University 82-72; Mac's total was the highest they've scored since the opening game of conference. The Braves led for the first five minutes of the contest but the 'Dogs surged forward and kept the lead for the remainder of the opening period; they led 42-25 at the break. MC shot in 15-of-29 from the floor and dropped 50% of their six tries from behind the arc. Ottawa connected on 10-of-28 field goals and a pair from deep.
McPherson's lead stayed in the double figures throughout the second 20 minutes but the team was never able to put the game to bed. The Braves stuck around but couldn't get their deficit under 10. Mac closed out the game making their shots late and won 82-72. The 'Dogs put in 13-of-31 field goals with 3-of-7 going down from distance; they also converted 11-of-14 free throws. OU went 13-of-28 from the field and 3-of-11 from deep.
The 'Dogs ended the game with a 46.7 shooting percentage (28-of-60) and connected on 6-of-13 from behind the arc; from the charity stripe, Mac dropped in 20-of-28. The team tallied 38 rebounds and had 10 on the offensive end of the court. They accrued 16 assists, eight turnovers, four steals and two blocks; the team had just one turnover in the first half. McPherson scored 32 points in the paint, 24 from the bench, and 15 off of turnovers.
Of the five Bulldogs that made it into double figures Darius Hill led the way with his 19; the senior, who also had a team-high nine rebounds, shot in 8-of-17 field goals and 3-of-6 free throws. TJ Grant and Kenny Berry Jr. each tabbed 13 points; Grant was 3-of-9 from the floor and a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe while Berry Jr. went 5-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 from the foul line. The two combined for 10 assists with Grant being responsible for six. Chris Crook scored 12 points as he made 4-of-10 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws; he also logged four assists. Latron Jolly added 11 points to the effort from the bench; the sophomore transfer made 4-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line. DeAndre Henson was just one-point off of joining the double-digit club with his nine points on 2-of-2 three balls and 3-of-4 free throws.
McPherson in the Rankings: Darius Hill is eighth in the country in total rebounds with 161; he is 16th in rebounds per game at 8.9. TJ Grant is 18th in total assists with 84. The team sits 21st in offensive rebounds per game with 12.9.
For their next outing, Mac will travel to Wichita, Kansas for a bout with the Friends University Falcons on January 17th, start time is 7:00 p.m.
Scouting Southwestern
The Builders have had an interesting season. They started the year off by winning all nine of their non-conference games; only two were against NAIA schools. SWC kept their winning streak going come KCAC season as they took down preseason favorite Tabor College in game one, 67-64, and then Sterling College, 81-79. The Moundbuilders then went into a slump, losing their next four; three were against league opponents and the other was at College of the Ozarks, 86-76. Southwestern will head into Thursday's game following an 87-80 victory over then-No. 25 University of Saint Mary.
After getting down early, SWC jumped in front less than five minutes into the contest and then surged forward to a seven-point lead. The team stayed up by a handful for the next several minutes; their lead reached double-digits by the five-minute mark and the Builders headed into their locker room up 44-32. Southwestern scored on 14-of-32 field goals and a perfect 12-of-12 from the foul line. USM dropped in 11-of-35 from the floor, 4-of-12 from deep, and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
The Moundbuilders held their double-digit advantage for the first five minutes of the second period but a 6-0 run by the Spires brought the score gap to five points. A few minutes later and SWC's lead was reduced to one, but a 9-0 run by the Builders pushed it back to double figures with nine minutes remaining. Down the stretch the teams traded baskets and Southwestern came away with the seven-point win. SWC went 11-of-23 from the floor and a remarkable 20-of-30 from the line. Saint Mary put in 12-of-29 with 3-of-10 from deep and an equally remarkable 21-of-27 from the free throw stripe.
Southwestern made 25-of-55 for the night with 5-of-14 threes going in; they counted 32-of-42 foul shots, 76.2%. 38 rebounds were grabbed by the Builders, 30 defensive. 12 turnovers, eight assists, three blocks, and three steals were logged by SWC.
2013-14 NAIA All-American Cameron Clark, much like he has throughout the season, led the team in scoring with 29; he was 8-of-16 from the floor and 11-of-13 from the stripe. The forward also led the team in rebounds with 10; he grabbed three of the team's eight offensive boards. Landers Riddle entered the game from the bench and put up 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 6-of-6 free throws. William Tisdale added 14 to the cause; he made 4-of-5 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the foul line. The final double-digit scorer was Chris Waller who made 3-of-8 field goals and 5-of-9 from the stripe.
On the year, Southwestern is scoring 81.4 points per game. They knock down 44.9% from the floor but just 31.1 percent from deep; their free throw percentage sits at 70.4. The team grabs 40.9 rebounds a night to go along with 13 turnovers, 11.1 assists, 7.3 steals and 2.1 blocks.
Clark has played in a team-high 511 minutes, 31.9 a game, and is scoring close to 20 points each time out; the junior also tops the Builders with his 8.8 rebounding average. Waller is second on the team in scoring with a 14.9 average; he has hit 70 free throws and pulls down 7.1 boards a night. Tisdale adds 11.8 on a regular basis and is followed by Riddle who is at 10.1.
The Moundbuilders will travel to North Newton, Kansas to face Bethel College on January 17th for their next game.
