Henson Scores 20 as Men's Basketball Tops Hastings

HASTINGS, Neb. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College men's basketball team drained 12 3-pointers en route to an 81-75 win over host Hastings College Friday night at the C3 Hotel Thanksgiving Classic at Lynn Farrell Arena.
 
The Broncos (3-5) jumped out to a 5-1 lead and led 16-12 with 12:39 to play after a 3-pointer by Rich Williams before the Bulldogs' (6-2) offense kicked into high gear with a 14-2 run. Chris Crook (Oklahoma City, Okla., Millwood HS) opened the stretch by draining a trey and finished with seven points during the rally. Jordan Windholz (Hays, Kan., Barton CC) capped the rally with a three of his own at the 9:05 mark to push the McPherson lead to 26-18.
 
Hastings rallied with 10 straight points over the next 5:14 – including five from Connor Musiel – to retake the lead at 28-26. The Bulldogs made one last charge in the first half, closing on a 10-2 run with Reed Rowell (Topeka, Kan., Butler CC) connecting on a pair of layups and Crook and DeAndre Henson (Aberdeen, Md., Cloud County CC) each knocking down a 3-pointer to give McPherson a 36-30 lead at the break.
 
The Bulldogs led from start to finish in the second half, extending the lead to 11 points on a Crook 3-pointer with 8:51 to play. The Broncos cut the lead to five with an 8-2 run before Henson nailed a trey to stop the rally.
 
Henson hit another 3-pointer with 43 seconds to play to give McPherson a 75-67 lead, leaving Hastings just enough time for one last rally. The Broncos sliced the lead to just two points with 12 seconds to play on a layup by Trey Moore, but Crook nailed four free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach.
 
Henson finished with a game-high 20 points, including 15 in the second half, on 7-of-13 shooting overall with four 3-pointers to lead McPherson. He also had seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. Crook added 17 points off the bench, including 10 in the first half, hitting three 3-pointers and dishing out a trio of assists. Careino Gurley (Minneapolis, Minn., Rochester CTC) had 10 points, while Thomas Butler (Key West, Fla., Vermilion CC) added six points, seven rebounds and three assists.
 
Hiscock and Moore led Hastings with 13 points each. Hiscock added nine rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Moore had eight assists, six rebounds and three steals. Kevin Harkins added 10 points and six rebounds, while Jake Hansen had five points and 13 rebounds.
 
The Bulldogs shot 43.1 percent (28-of-65) from the field, 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from 3-point range and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) at the charity stripe. By contrast, the Broncos shot 38.4 percent (28-of-73) overall, 17.2 percent (5-of-29) from long distance and 56.0 percent (14-of-25) at the line.
 
"This is a great win for our team," said head coach Tim Swartzendruber. "We have participated in this tournament four times since I became the head coach [at McPherson} and this is the first time we have beaten Hastings on their own floor. I can't say enough about our effort and toughness. [We] made free throws down the stretch [and it was] just a great effort!"
 
The Bulldogs continue play in Hastings at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon when they face Doane University (6-4).