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McPherson, Kan. – The MC men's basketball team will be on the road on Thursday night as they are set to take on the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas; tipoff for the KCAC contest is set for 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Scouting McPherson
Mac sits at 6-13 on the year as they continue to try and find some rhythm on a roster with several new faces this season; the effort has been there for the Bulldogs but unfortunately not the outcomes. The team seemed to be rolling as they won their final three games before the holiday break but back-to-back losses to start the New Year has slowed any momentum gained.
Last Time Out – In their most recent contest, aside from the first five minutes, the Bulldogs had a rough night shooting. After holding the lead for the first several minutes, a rough patch from MC gave Sterling the window to take charge of the game, which the Warriors did. McPherson trailed by as many as 10 and were down 44-37 at the break. The 'Dogs came out of the locker room inspired and were able to pull within one point but never took the lead back. They kept their deficit under 10 for most of the period which is where the game ended, 84-74 in favor of SC.
Chris Crook led all scoring with his 21 points on 7-of-15 field goals and 3-of-3 foul shots; the junior made 4-of-8 from distance and had six rebounds and three steals as well. Ramon Martinez ended the night with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting with 4-of-5 free throws; he pulled in seven rebounds and logged a team-high three assists. Aaron Bachura had one of his more complete games for MC; the sophomore scored 15 points and held Sterling's leading scorer to just nine points, all of which were free throws. Louis Parker III was the final double-digit scorer for the 'Dogs as he went 3-of-6 from the floor and 4-of-7 from the stripe for 10; he had six boards in his 18 minutes on the court.
Year at a Glance – Mac is scoring 75.1 points a night while allowing just over 80 for a -5.7 scoring margin. They make 39.7% from the field while knocking in 31.3% from range; they convert on a KCAC-leading 76.5 percent from the charity stripe. The team is grabbing 37.9 rebounds a night and also tally 13.7 turnovers, 11.9 assists, 6.7 steals, and 2.3 blocks each time out. The Bulldogs are currently seventh in the NAIA D-II in free throw percentage.
Crook is continuing his phenomenal junior season as he's scored a team-high 330 points, 17.4 a game; he has made 98 field goals with 42 coming from behind the arc. Crook is also performing well from the line where he's made 92-of-106 attempts. Dee Roberts, who hasn't played the last three games for Mac, is averaging 14.3 points and has 31 threes on the year, second on the team. Martinez tallies 10.8 a night while pulling down 5.3 rebounds. Reed Rowell, who returned from an injury this past week, is at 7.9ppg and leads the team in rebounding average at 9.3 boards.
The Bulldogs are home on Saturday night when they host Southwestern College at 5:00 p.m. in the Sport Center.
Scouting Saint Mary
The Spires started the year hot, winning three of their first four and scoring over 90 points on average. They've since cooled down and sit at 8-9 on the year and have eclipsed 90 points just once, coming in their most recent game, a 91-82 victory over Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
Last Time Out – USM started the game on a 9-2 run to take a quick lead over the Eagles. Saint Mary kept a slim lead for the next 10 minutes but then a run in the closing minutes of the half gave them a 40-30 advantage heading into the break. The Spires kept a double-digit lead for most of the second period with the peak being 16 points. OKWU was able to pull the score gap to just six points with five minutes remaining but another run by Saint Mary all but ended the game. USM netted 29-of-59 field goals with 8-of-23 from behind the arc; the team counted 25-of-31 free throws. 35 rebounds were tallied by the Spires along with 18 turnovers, 18 assists, nine steals, and four blocks.
Grant Greenberg, who recently hit the 2000 point mark as a junior, scored a game-high 27 points on 7-of-15 shooting with 3-of-7 from deep and 10-of-12 from the foul line; he also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and had three assists as well in his 38 minutes of play. Jordan Thomas entered the game from the bench to score his 18 points; he made 4-of-10 field goals and 10-of-11 foul shots. Marcus Mondaine went a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 from the stripe for 11 points; he too had nine rebounds. Trent Richardson also made it into double figures scoring with his 4-of-8 makes from the floor including a pair of threes.
Year at a Glance – This year Saint Mary is scoring 81.5 points a night and hold a positive scoring margin of 2.5. They are making 43.2 percent from the floor including 33.1 percent from deep; the team makes 76.1 percent from the charity stripe. The Spires are rebounding 35.5 boards a game to go along with their 13.8 assists, 12.9 turnovers, 6.8 steals, and 2.9 blocks.
Greenberg averages 25.3 points each game and is making 48.9% from the field; he has dropped in 142-of-162 from the free throw line and tabs 5.4 boards each time out. Thomas, who has started seven of the team's 14 games, is scoring 12.4 a night but makes just 33.8% from the field and 25.3% from deep. Andre Clark is the last player to score over 10 on average with his 10.1ppg. Payton Meek is the leading three-point shooter for USM as he's netted 34-of-80 on the year.
Saint Mary will head to Sterling College on Saturday for their next game.
