McPherson, Kan. – Following a solid opening 20 minutes, the MC men's basketball team couldn't get anything to drop in the second half as they fell to Central Christian College 78-63 on Wednesday night. It was the first loss of the season for Mac.
"Give Central credit, they played well in the second half," said Coach Swartzendruber. "I thought we had a great first half, but we couldn't keep it going. I was disappointed we didn't shoot it well. But that was in part due to Central's length. We need to bounce back this weekend."
The opening half was about as heated as you could get. There were multiple lead changes with neither team leading by more than a couple buckets. The half's final lead change came with 00:01 on the clock as Dee Roberts found Ryan O'Hara to give the Bulldogs a 37-36 halftime advantage. MC converted 12-of-30 field goals with 5-of-15 threes dropping; they made 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. The Tigers netted 11-of-36 from the floor with 5-of-14 from distance; the team hit 9-of-11 free throws.
In the second, the lead was again traded for the first few minutes but a couple of runs by Central put them in the driver's seat; by the midway point of the half, they held an 11-point advantage. McPherson surged back but could never get closer than seven. A quick 10-point run by the Tigers would seal the deal as their 17-point lead was never in question. As the final horn sounded, Mac found themselves on the wrong end of a 78-63 score line. MC hit on 10-of-31 from the floor and missed all eight of their three-point tries; they were 6-of-9 from the stripe. Central shot in 17-of-33 field goals and 5-of-9 threes; they went 50% from the line, 3-of-6.
McPherson closed out the game with a 36.1 field goal percentage, 22-of-61; they made 5-of-23 from behind the arc and 14-of-19 free throws. The 'Dogs were outrebounded 47-to-37 but grabbed 12 offensive boards. 40 of Mac's total came in the paint while 23 were bench points. They had 12 turnovers and 10 assists in the game.
Roberts, who tallied 12 first-half points, ended the night with 14 on 5-of-12 shooting with three from deep; he also made 1-of-4 from the stripe. Both Chris Crook and O'Hara each scored 10; Crook was 3-of-11 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line while O'Hara made 4-of-6 twos and 2-of-3 free throws. Reed Rowell was again close to a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Bulldogs will play their next two games in North Newton, Kansas as they compete in the Bethel College Classic. The team takes on Haskell Indian Nations University on Friday at 6:00 p.m. (CT) and then York College on Saturday, also at 6:00.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
