McPherson, Kan. – After taking a four-point lead into the locker room, the McPherson College men's basketball team had a tough time finding points in the second leading to a 66-58 loss to Bethel College in the Sport Center. The Bulldogs are now 6-16 on the year and 2-10 in the conference.
MC trailed for the first part of the opening period as they got down early and stayed down by a few points, but never more than seven. A mini-run by the Bulldogs put them in front just past the 10-minute mark and Mac held a slim advantage for the rest of the half, leading 34-30 at the break. The 'Dogs netted 13-of-30 from the floor with 4-of-12 from behind the arc; they went 4-of-6 from the stripe. Bethel counted 12-of-32 field goals with 4-of-11 being three balls; the Threshers made 2-of-4 free throws.
The two teams traded the lead for the first half of the second with no team taking control of the game. That would changed as from the 14:30 mark until there was 4:17 on the clock the 'Dogs went on a scoring drought and BC used a 16-4 run to take a 59-47 advantage. McPherson strung a couple baskets together and got within a couple possessions but Bethel was able to hit their free throws down the stretch and held on for the 66-58 road victory. The 'Dogs went just 11-of-33 in the second period with a mere 2-of-12 falling from deep; despite a very physical period, Mac did not attempt a single free throw. The Threshers scored on 13-of-27 from the floor with 2-of-5 coming from range; they made 8-of-14 foul shots.
MC dropped in 24-of-63 field goals for the game with 6-of-24 coming from range, 25 percent; they were 4-of-6 at the line. The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle with 41 including eight offensive boards; the team tallied an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers along with eight assists and seven steals. 32 points were scored in the paint for MC and 25 came from their bench players.
Chris Crook led the team in scoring with 18 points on 7-of-15 from the floor including 2-of-5 from deep; he made both of his free throws and tallied a team-high eight rebounds as well. Dee Roberts scored 16 for MC, making 7-of-13 from the field; he had another great first half, scoring 10 points off the bench. Ramon Martinez put in 4-of-11 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws for his 10 points; he had six rebounds in the contest.
McPherson will venture to Ottawa, Kansas to face the Braves of Ottawa University on Saturday, January 23; tipoff is slated 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
