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McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men's basketball team will host the Ottawa University Braves on Tuesday, November 24 for an 8:00 p.m. (CT) matchup between the two squads. This is Mac's first home conference battle of the season.
Scouting McPherson
The Bulldogs are 3-4 on the year and 1-1 in the KCAC. MC lost their first conference game of the year to a hot-handed Southwestern College, 96-84, but then rebounded nicely with a 12-point victory of their own over Bethel College, 75-63.
Last Time Out – Against Bethel, McPherson came out on fire but stalled midway through the opening half. A push by BC gave the Threshers a one-point halftime advantage, 35-34. The Bulldogs used their defense to control the second period, holding Bethel to just 28 points in the 20-minute half. Mac scored 41 points to secure the 75-63 win. The 'Dogs had a nice night shooting the ball, making 29-of-61 field goals including 9-of-22 from behind the arc; they only shot 11 free throws but made the most of their attempts as they connected on eight of them. The team had 47 rebounds in the contest and also logged 15 turnovers, 14 assists, and just three steals.
Dee Roberts netted a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 4-of-7 threes making their way in; he also had four rebounds in the contest. Chris Crook scored 14 points on 5-of-14 field goals with two from distance; he made both of his free throws. Reed Rowell had an incredible night rebounding with his 16 defensive boards; the forward also scored 12 points and had one assist and a steal in a game-high 35 minutes of play. Ramon Martinez was Mac's scoring in the opening minutes of the game and ended with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the stripe; the sophomore also had a team-high six assists. Ryan O'Hara battled foul trouble all game but still scored nine points on 4-of-6 from the floor and had a pair of boards as well.
Season at a Glance – Through their seven games this season, McPherson is averaging 76.4 points a night while shooting in 41.5% from the field; the team has a positive scoring margin of 0.14. The Bulldogs hit on 34.7% from deep and convert 72.7 percent of their foul shots. Despite having a stellar rebounding night on Saturday, MC still has a negative rebounding margin of 6.4; they pull in 37.4 rebounds a game. Mac also averages 13.6 turnovers, 11.0 assists, 8.0 steals, and 1.7 blocks.
Roberts tallies 15.7 points per game while shooting in 46% from the field; he leads the team in field goals and three-point makes with 40 and 18, respectively. Crook is at 13.4 points a night, making 38.2 percent of his attempts from the field and 34.2% from deep. Martinez, O'Hara, and Rowell each score in the eight-point range each contest. Rowell leads the team in rebounding with an average of 9.7 boards a night while O'Hara has accrued a team leading seven steals and six blocks this year.
The Bulldogs will travel to Bellevue, Nebraska for a Thanksgiving tournament hosted by Bellevue University. The team is set to play York College on November 27th and College of the Ozarks on the 28th.
Scouting Ottawa
The Braves are 3-5 this season with wins coming at Baker University, 91-87, at Haskell Indian Nations University, 93-86, and most recently versus Oklahoma Wesleyan University, 86-74. In the team's first conference game of the year, they fell to KCAC preseason favorite Tabor College 85-81 in overtime.
Last Time Out – Against OKWU, the Braves had a solid first half as they shot over 50% from the field with a large chunk of points coming in the paint; they led 39-29 after 20 minutes of play. In the second, the Eagles started on an 9-0 run to pull within one point. OU never relinquished the lead and won the half by two points. The shooting percentages evened out but Ottawa still held the edge, making 44.4% for the half. The Braves ended the game making 29-of-58 from the field with 7-of-16 from deep; they went just 21-of-36 from the charity stripe. The team logged 48 rebounds with 12 coming on the offensive end of the court; they also had 20 turnovers 13 assists, seven steals, and one block.
Four OU players scored over 10 points. They were led by Preston Oakes who had 16 on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line; he also pulled in a team-high 13 rebounds. Mike McKinney was next on the list as the bench player scored 14 on 4-of-7 shooting with 6-of-8 free throws; he led the team in assists with four and had seven boards as well. Hollis Mitchell shot 4-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from the stripe for his 13 points. Logan Bullinger was the final player to hit double-digits with his 12 bench points; the forward made 4-of-6 field goals including both his three balls along with 2-of-3 foul shots.
Year at a Glance – This season Ottawa is making 44.8% of their field goals with 31.7% from deep and 70.7% from the stripe falling through. They average 82.9 points per game and have a scoring margin of -2.0; the team's defensive field goal percentage of 41.3 percent is a KCAC best. OU pulls down 40 rebounds a night and also tab 19.1 turnovers, 12.9 assists, 7.4 steals, and 2.1 blocks each time they hit the court.
Marshon Norfleet, who hasn't played in the past few games, leads the team in scoring with his 19.7 average; he is averaging 6.0 rebounds a night as well. Oakes is a close second at 18.3 ppg; he has scored a team-high 54 field goals with 12 from beyond the arc. The senior is the team's top rebounder with an average of 8.0 a game. Mitchell also tallies 10+ a game with an average of 12.1 points; he is the squad leader in free throw makes as he's drained 27-of-37. Bullinger and John O'con both average over nine points per contest for OU.
Next on the docket is an exhibition matchup for Ottawa as the Braves travel to Colorado to play the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs on November 28th.
