Lawrence, Kan. – It's the way all programs want to start their seasons, with a W. The McPherson College men's basketball team traveled to Haskell Indian Nations University on Saturday, not knowing what to expect. The Indians have a new athletic director, a new coach, and plenty of new faces to their team. After 40 minutes, the Bulldogs came out on top 81-73.
"We had a really good stretch for 10 minutes of the second half," said Coach Swartzendruber. "Overall it was good to get a win with so many new faces."
The first half was about as close as you could get with each team trading baskets throughout. Whenever one team got a two possession lead, the other would find a way to get right back in it. At the break, Mac held a three-point, 37-34, advantage.
McPherson shot the ball very well, hitting on 15-of-32 field goals with 4-of-12 from range; they connected on 3-of-4 free throws in the opening period. HINU didn't have as high of a shooting percentage (12-of-29 for 41.4%) but drained six from distance, earning a few extra points; the team made 4-of-9 foul shots.
The 'Dogs roared out of the locker room, starting the half on an 18-4 run. The 17-point lead put MC in full control of the second half and allowed them to run their offense and drain time. Haskell made a game of it late, pulling their deficit back to single figures, but by then it was too late as the clock was winding down. McPherson connected on 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the eight-point victory.
For as well as they shot the ball in the first half, Mac upped it in the second. The Bulldogs connected on 13-of-26 from the field and made 15-of-20 from the stripe; they ended the night with a 48.3 field goal percentage (28-of-58). The Indians continued to hit their three-point tries in the final 20 minutes (7-of-18) but it wasn't enough; they closed the game out making 26-of-62 field goals with 13-of-33 threes going down. MC outscored Haskell 24-to-15 in the paint and 22-to-13 in points off of turnovers.
Junior Chris Crook led McPherson in scoring with his 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting including 2-of-4 from range; he made 5-of-7 free throws as well. Ryan O'Hara knocked in 3-of-5 field goals and 7-of-8 foul shots for his first 15 points as a Bulldog. Fellow newcomer Dee Roberts scored 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting; he was 1-of-2 from the line. Another new face to MC, Reed Rowell, was just one bucket off a double-double as he dropped in 3-of-8 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws to go with his 11 rebounds. Kyle Lakin was all about the fives as the point guard scored five points, had five rebounds, and dished out five assists.
The first home game for the 'Dogs is this Monday, November 2. Mac welcomes Manhattan Christian College to McPherson for a 7:00 p.m. (CT) tipoff. The junior varsity will also be in action as they face KSU-Salina at 5:00.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
