McPherson, Kan. – After trailing for the entire second half, a late run by McPherson College gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead over Friends University with less than 10 seconds remaining. A last-second bucket by the Falcons gave them the 65-64 win. This was the second in three games that Mac has lost in the closing seconds.
It was not a pretty first quarter for either team as they tallied 13 combined turnovers; after one period, the score was tied at 15-15. In the second, the Bulldogs jumped out to a five-point lead but a run by Friends to end the half put the Falcons ahead 35-30 heading into the break. MC hit eight of their 13 two-point field goals but went just 1-of-11 from distance; they cashed in on 11-of-14 free throws and also had 13 turnovers. Friends knocked down 15-of-25 from the floor including 5-of-15 three balls; the team missed their lone foul shot.
McPherson had a rough third quarter as they tabulated 12 turnovers and only 11 points; the team started the half with three-straight TOs. Fortunately, the Falcons were off target on most of their field goals and the 'Dogs trailed by just 10 heading into the fourth. In the final period, the Bulldogs had a nice 8-0 run midway through to pull within striking distance with one minute remaining. Taking advantage of some poor foul shooting by Friends, Mac took the lead on a jumper in the paint by Ashton Bruner with just eight seconds remaining. The Falcons set up one more play for their star who put her team up with two seconds left. A half-court runner by the Bulldogs was off target ending the game at 65-64. The 'Dogs hit 11-of-21 in the second half but were 0-of-5 from deep; a large chunk of their total came from the stripe as they made 12-of-16. FU connected on 10-of-32 in the final 20 minutes and also missed all their tries from behind the arc, 0-of-13; they went 10-of-17 from the foul line.
Mac closed out the game making 44.4% from the floor but saw only one three ball out of 16 attempts go in; they converted 23-of-30 free throws. The Bulldogs killed it on the glass with 48 total rebounds to Friends' 29. MC also logged 30 turnovers, eight assists, three steals and one block. 51 of their total points came in the paint with 16 being second-chance points.
Bruner scored a career-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting with 4-of-5 free throws falling through; she also grabbed 16 rebounds with four on the offensive end of the court. Bailey Brown netted 18 for the Bulldogs on 5-of-6 field goals and 8-of-10 foul shots; she pulled in four rebounds as well. Sunny Smart scored nine and had six rebounds, four off the offensive glass.
McPherson will start their road week at Bethany College on Thursday with the JV game getting underway at 2:00 p.m. (CT) and 6:00 for the varsity.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
