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McPherson, Kan. – The Ottawa University Braves will be the guests of McPherson College on Saturday, January 10 for a 7:00 p.m. (CT) matchup with the Bulldogs. The MC's junior varsity squad will take on Hesston College at 3:00.
The 'Dogs head into their first home game of 2015 coming off a one-point loss at Sterling College. Mac trailed for the first few minutes but an 11-2 run midway through the half put them ahead for the final 10+ minutes. MC led 38-32 at the break. McPherson used their three-point shooting to propel them ahead of Sterling; 6-of-12 three balls and 9-of-20 two pointers dropped in for the Bulldogs. Sterling hit on 14-of-28 from the floor with a pair of threes.
In the second half, the two squads traded baskets the whole way; Mac led by as many as nine but never were able to put the game away. In the final minute, the Warriors took their first lead since the 12-minute mark of the opening period. MC answered but a pull-up jumper by Sterling gave the Warriors a one-point lead with just 6.4 seconds left. The Bulldogs had a 12-foot jump shot at the buzzer but it was just long, ending the game at 71-70 in favor of SC. McPherson was 12-of-33 from the floor and made another 6-of-12 from deep. Sterling converted on another 14-of-28 field goals.
The 'Dogs went 27-of-65 in the game and connected on 12-of-24 three balls; they only made 4-of-9 free throws. The team tallied 31 rebounds while giving up 46. 15 assists and only five turnovers were recorded by Mac; they also had four steals.
TJ Grant led the team in scoring with his 21 points; he knocked down 8-of-15 field goals and dropped 4-of-7 from range while making 1-of-3 free throws. The senior also topped the team in assists with five. Chris Crook ended the night with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Latron Jolly came in off the bench to score 10 points on 4-of-8 field goals including a pair from behind the arc. DeAndre Henson recorded a team-high eight rebounds to go with his eight points. Darius Hill was held to just nine points and six rebounds; the forward was averaging 17.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game heading into the contest.
Ranked Bulldogs: McPherson sits 19th in the Nation in offensive boards a night with 13.1. Darius Hill is seventh in Division-II in total rebounds with 152 and 16th in rebounds per game at 8.9.
Mac will stay at home for their next game as they take on Southwestern College on January 15th; tipoff is slated for 8:00 p.m.
Scouting Ottawa
The Braves are 9-5 on the year and sit at 2-3 in the KCAC; the team has wins over Sterling College and Southwestern College, both coming before the break. Most recently, OU lost a 93-73 contest to the University of Saint Mary in Ottawa.
USM led from the get-go and pushed their advantage to double-digits within the first six minutes of the game. The Braves kept their deficit around the 10-point mark but trailed 40-27 at halftime. Ottawa knocked in 10-of-27 from the floor with 4-of-12 threes going through. Saint Mary counted 19-of-33 field goals in the first period but went just 1-of-7 from deep.
The second half was all Spires as they led by 20+ for all but the first five minutes of the period. USM went on to win 93-73. OU converted on 16-of-35 from the floor with 5-of-13 three balls and 9-of-12 free throws dropping in. Saint Mary bucketed 21-of-32 from the field with 6-of-13 from distance; they went 5-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Ottawa ended the game shooting in 41.9% from the floor, 26-62, and made 36% from behind the arc, 9-of-25; they connected on 12-of-19 foul shots. Just 28 rebounds were grabbed by the Braves as USM hit the majority of their shots – 61.5%. OU also tabbed 16 assists, 13 turnovers, four steals, and a pair of blocks.
Marshon Norfleet entered the game from the bench but led the team in scoring with 21 points; he was 7-of-17 from the floor and made all four of his free throws. Adam Hasty bucketed 4-of-10 field goals and 4-of-10 free throws for his 15 points; he also logged a team-high four assists. Another reserve, Riley Falk, scored 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers for OU; the forward was perfect for the night, making 4-of-4 field goals including a pair from distance.
Ottawa is averaging 77.7 points a game and have a positive scoring margin of 3.1. They net 43.7% from the floor with 36.7% dropping in from distance; the Braves convert on 70.3 percent of their free throw attempts. The team tabs 40.7 rebounds a night to go along with 16.6 assists, 14.7 turnovers, 6.0 steals, and 4.0 blocks.
Ottawa has started the same five players for all but one of their games. Norfleet, who has started all but last night's game, is leading the team in scoring with his 17.2 average; he has made 74 field goals on the year, 29 from distance, and a team-high 64 free throws. Hasty is second on the scoring list with his 14.2 points per game; the senior has dropped a team leading 47 three balls and also tops the squad in assists with 73. Preston Oakes is the final double-digit scorer with his 13.3 average; the forward has connected on 23-of-56 three balls this year.
Kansas Wesleyan University is the next opponent for the Braves.
