Cold Shooting Limits Men's Basketball in 90-58 Loss to Doane

HASTINGS, Neb. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College men's basketball team dropped a 90-58 decision to Doane University on Saturday afternoon to cap their play at the Hastings College C3 Hotel Thanksgiving Classic at Lynn Farrell Arena.

Aside from a couple of ties in the early going, Doane led virtually from start to finish. A 3-pointer from Chris Crook (Oklahoma City, Okla., Millwood HS) cut the lead to one at 14-13 with 13:43 left in the first half, but the Tigers went on an 18-7 run over the next six minutes to push the lead to 12. McPherson responded with a 13-6 run behind seven points from Crook cut the deficit to five only to see Doane return the lead to double digits with seven straight points as Nate Kuhl bookended a Connor Long 3-pointer with a pair of layups.

The Bulldogs ended the half on a 5-0 run as DeAndre Henson (Aberdeen, Md., Cloud County CC) hit a three and Crook drained a couple of free throws as McPherson trailed 45-38 at halftime.

McPherson scored four of the first six points of the second half, but Doane responded by rattling off eight straight points to take a 55-42 lead. Thomas Butler (Key West, Fla., Vermilion CC) and Henson hit back-to-back shots to cut the deficit to nine point, but a 27-8 run over a span of nearly 11 minutes allowed the Tigers to push the lead all the way to 28. Crook and Henson hit layup on back-to-back trips down the floor to make it 82-58 with 3:06 to play, but Doane scored the final eight points of the game, salting the game away with an Eddie Austin triple and three Riley Nedved free throws.

Hampered by cold shooting all afternoon, the Bulldogs shot 34.4 percent (22-of 64) from the field and were limited to just four 3-pointers. McPherson did have one of its best performances of the season at the line, however, converting on 10 of 11 opportunities at the charity stripe.

Doane, on the other hand, had a hot shooting touch across the board. The Tigers shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the field, 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from long distance and 81.0 percent (17-of-21) at the free throw line.

Crook was the only Bulldog to crack double digits in the scoring column, finishing with 18 points on 5-of-14 shooting with a couple of 3-pointers. He had 14 first-half points and was also a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Henson added nine points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Butler had eight points and a team-high six rebounds. Careino Gurley (Minneapolis, Minn., Rochester CTC) and Grant Raleigh (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) posted six points apiece. 

The Tigers finished with four players in double figures, led by Kuhl with 19. He was 8-of-10 from the field, hauled in seven rebounds and had four blocks and two steals. Chase Stone added 16 points with four 3-pointers and four boards. Mykeil Tzul had 12 points and five assists, while Long posted 11 points and four rebounds off the bench.

"We just didn't have it today," said head coach Tim Swartzendruber. "We were a step slow defensively from the start. Doane is an outstanding shooting team. They consistently broke us down and got good shots. We need to forget this one and get ready to return to conference play."

The Bulldogs return to the court Thursday, Dec. 1 against Bethel College in the first of four straight KCAC matchups. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. at Thresher Gymnasium in North Newton, Kan.