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McPherson, Kan. – For the second-straight week, McPherson College will play their first game of the week on a Wednesday. On the 28th, the 'Dogs are set to host Bethel College with tipoff starting at 8:00 p.m. (CT); the junior varsity will get underway at 4:00.
The Bulldogs are coming off another close loss as Bethany College defeated Mac 79-77 this past weekend. MC started in a 10-point hole as the Swedes hit their stride early. McPherson eventually found their grove and overtook BC by the 10-minute mark; they would hold the advantage for the rest of the period and led 46-38 at the break. Mac hit on 19-of-31 from the floor including 6-of-12 from distance. The Swedes went 13-of-28 with 5-of-12 threes falling.
The 'Dogs stayed out in front by a small margin for most of the second half. By the midway point, the two teams began trading the lead with the score margin staying within a couple baskets. Trailing by a few, McPherson had a couple opportunities to take the lead late but Bethany was able to hold off the Bulldogs for the 79-77 victory. MC connected on 10-of-26 field goals with just 3-of-10 three balls finding the bottom of the net. The Swedes shot the ball very well in the final 20 minutes as they saw 17-of-33 shots fall.
The Bulldogs ended the night hitting 29-of-57 from the field with 9-of-22 three balls finding the bottom of the net; they were 10-of-14 from the line. The 'Dogs grabbed 31 rebounds to go along with their 13 turnovers, 12 assists, seven steals, and three blocks. The team scored 38 in the paint and had 32 points come from the bench.
Chris Crook put in 8-of-15 from the floor including 4-of-10 from deep along with one free throw for his team-high 21 points; he also had three steals and a pair of assists. Darius Hill totaled 20 points on 8-of-10 field goals and 4-of-5 foul shots; he grabbed six rebounds. DeAndre Henson went 50% from deep, 4-of-8, and connected on 1-of-4 two pointers for his 14 points; he also had seven boards. TJ Grant tallied 10 points to go along with his team leading five assists.
McPherson in the NAIA: Darius Hill is 14th in the NAIA D-II in total rebounds with 184 and sits 20th in both offensive rebounds per game, 3.1, and total rebounds per game, 8.8. TJ Grant ranks 15th in assist/turnover ratio at 3.0 and is 19th in the country in total assists with 102.
The Following are Statistics from Conference Games Only.
McPherson in the KCAC: The 'Dogs are third in assist/turnover ratio at 1.1 and fourth in turnover margin at 2.0. The team has upped their three-point percentage which is now at 33.3%, fifth in the league. Darius Hill is sixth in points per game, 18.2, second in field goal percentage at 55.9%, and second in rebounding average with 8.4. TJ Grant is second in free throw percentage, 86.4%, third in assists per game, 4.6, and fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 3.07 assists to turnovers.
Mac will travel to Kansas Wesleyan University on January 31st for their next contest.
Scouting Bethel
The Threshers sit at 8-14 on the year, a drastic improvement from their 0-28 season last year. They went through the first round of conference play winning two and losing seven; their wins came against McPherson and Kansas Wesleyan. The team will head into Wednesday's game on a seven-game losing streak; all but two of those games were within 10 points.
Most recently, Bethel took on the University of Saint Mary in North Newton. The Spires took the lead early and maintained a slim advantage throughout the first 15 minutes. In the final five, USM increased their lead to double-digits and were ahead 37-29 at half. BC went 12-of-30 in the opening period with 2-of-5 threes falling while Saint Mary counted 14-of-32 field goals but just 3-of-12 from behind the arc.
USM's lead hovered around the 10-point mark for the first five minutes but then increased to 20 by the midway point of the half. Bethel never got any closer than 17 which is where the game ended, 78-61. The Threshers converted on 10-of-30 from the floor with just 1-of-5 threes and 11-of-22 free throws going down. Saint Mary went 13-of-35 with 3-of-11 threes finding the bottom of the net.
BC was led in scoring by Adam Arciniega who scored a game-high 30 points; he was 11-of-24 for the night and also saw 8-of-12 free throws fall. The senior also led the team in rebounds and minutes played with 11 and 31, respectively. Devin Goodwin scored on 5-of-7 field goals and 2-of-8 foul shots for his 13 points. Jenson Kinglsey was the only other player to get over the four-point mark as he scored 10 points; the guard made two of the team's three three-point buckets.
All Statistics are for KCAC games only.
This season Bethel is scoring 65 points a night which is last in the conference; their scoring margin of -7.3 is the second worst in the league. They are hitting 41.7% from the field but just 27.6 from distance; the team makes just 3.7 threes on average, bottom of the KCAC. Each game out, the Threshers net 32.7 rebounds, 15.4 turnovers, 9.5 assists, 6.8 steals, and 2.3 blocks.
Arciniega is counting 24.6 points a night and has made a team-high 89 field goals and 64 free throws; he also leads Bethel in rebounding with his 9.9 average. Goodwin is netting 11.0 a game, mostly from the bench. Kingsley, who averages 10.8 per contest, is the team's three-point shooter; he has made over half of the team's total threes against KCAC schools, 24-of-40.
Bethel will take on Bethany on January 31st for their next contest.
