Leavenworth, Kan. – It was a very close contest between the Bulldogs and the University of Saint Mary on Wednesday. After the 40-minute game, the Spires overthrew McPherson 73-64
"We continue to play hard and compete," said Coach Swartzendruber. "Tonight we had one of those bad stretches when we didn't score and they did. We didn't recover. Grant Greenberg is the best player in the conference and one of the top players in the Nation. He was difficult to stop."
It was a back-and-forth first half as neither team was able to distance themselves from the other; Saint Mary led by as many as seven but a 9-0 run by the Bulldogs brought them back. The Spires scored eight of the final 11 points and took a 30-27 advantage into their locker room. MC scored on 11-of-30 from the floor and 4-of-8 from the charity stripe; they were just 1-of-10 from deep. USM drained 12-of-30 field goals with 3-of-13 coming from behind the arc.
The second 20 minutes was much like the first as the teams stayed close to one another; Saint Mary stayed ahead most of the way but were never able to get too much separation from Mac. The NAIA's leading scorer, Grant Greenberg, pushed the Spires up by 14 with less than five minutes to play. McPherson surged back and was able to get within seven but made free throws by USM gave them the 73-64 victory. The 'Dogs were 9-of-26 from the field and made 2-of-7 threes; they dropped in 17-of-21 free throws. Saint Mary knocked down 15 of their 26 shots with 3-of-7 from distance; 10-of-14 foul shots were counted by the Spires.
McPherson ended the night making 20-of-56 from the floor but went just 3-of-17 from range; they converted on 21-of-29 free throws. The team pulled down 30 rebounds to go along with seven turnovers, six blocks, five assists, and three steals. 28 of Mac's total came in the paint and 14 were scored by bench players.
Chris Crook led the team in scoring with his 14 points; he made 5-of-14 field goals and both of his foul shots. TJ Grant connected on 7-of-8 free throws and 3-of-13 from the floor for his 13 points; he grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Latron Jolly added nine points and was followed by DeAndre Henson and Louis Parker III who each scored eight.
MC will play host to Bethany College on January 24th for the start of the second go-around of the KCAC; the junior varsity is set to start at 3:00 p.m. (CT) with varsity tipping off at 7:00
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
