Leavenworth, Kan. – Some nights you can hit all the shots you need but just not come away with a W. Unfortunately for the MC men's basketball team, Thursday night was one of those as they dropped an 85-74 contest to the University of Saint Mary, despite shooting above their season average from the field.
McPherson came to play in the opening minutes and were out in front for most of the first period. After leading by 10, however, the Bulldogs gave up a few turnovers which led to the game getting tied at 27-27 with five minutes to go. The lead was switched several times in the final minutes and MC headed into the locker room up 37-36. The 'Dogs shot in 15-of-34 field goals with 6-of-15 coming from behind the arc; they made their lone free throw attempt. Saint Mary scored on 14-of-32 from the floor and were just 1-of-10 from distance; they converted on 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
The second half was another close period as the two teams stayed within a couple buckets for the first ten minutes. A couple of mini-runs by the Spires gave them a 14-point lead with just over seven to play. Mac was able to pull their deficit to single figures a few times but they never were able to take the lead back. USM made enough free throws late in the game to secure the 85-74 win. The Bulldogs made 11-of-26 in the second half with 5-of-9 from behind the arc; they connected on 10-of-15 free throws. Saint Mary put in 16-of-35 including 4-of-12 from range; they dropped in 13-of-17 from the line.
MC ended the night shooting in 26-of-60, 43.3%, from the field and 11-of-24 from three-point land; they made 11-of-16 foul shots. The team was only able to secure 29 rebounds but 10 were on the offensive end of the court. They also had 14 turnovers, 12 assists, four blocks, and three steals. 31 of their total points came in the paint while 18 were from bench players, and 17 came off of turnovers.
Ramon Martinez led the game in scoring with his 21 points on 6-of-12 field goals and 8-of-11 free throws; he also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Chris Crook put in 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting with 3-of-5 foul shots. Kyle Lakin had a solid game for MC, aside from guarding USM's leading scorer, the senior made 4-of-6 field goals with three from behind the arc for his 11 points.
McPherson will host Southwestern College on January 16th for their next contest; start time is set for 5:00 p.m. (CT)
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
