Men's Basketball Stymied by Bethel Despite 25 From Crook

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- Chris Crook (Oklahoma City, Okla., Millwood HS) scored a game-high 25 points, but Bethel College used a late surge to defeat McPherson College, 84-64, in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) men's basketball play Thursday night at Thresher Gymnasium.
 
The Bulldogs (6-4, 1-3 KCAC) led 55-54 with 9:53 to play but the Threshers (7-3, 1-3 KCAC) finished the game on a 30-9 run, holding McPherson without a field goal for over five minutes.
 
After trading baskets over the first 2:30, Bethel grabbed the first extended lead of the game. The Threshers eventually led by six after Deven Goodwin drained a 3-pointer at the 13:20 mark of the first half, but McPherson rallied to score 15 of the next 20 points to grab a 25-21 lead on a Grant Munsen (Manhattan, Kan., Manhattan HS) basket with 5:45 to play.
 
McPherson was unable to sustain the rally, however, and Bethel retook the lead with nine straight points capped by a Maurice Jordan 3-pointer with 2:19 remaining. DeAndre Henson (Aberdeen, Md., Cloud County CC) cut the Thresher lead to two at 30-28 with a three of his own on the Bulldogs' next possession. Jordan made it 31-28 by hitting one of two free throws at the 1:48 mark – a score that would hold into the halftime break.
 
Bethel scored eight of the first 11 points in the second half to push the lead to eight points less than three minutes in. The Threshers held the lead through the 15:00 mark when McPherson rattled off 11 of the next 14 points led off by five points from Crook and capped by six from Aaron Bachura (Wilsey, Kan., Council Grove HS) to tie the game at 47 with 12:16 to play.
 
A Crook 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs the lead with 11:05 to play and, after conceding the lead momentarily, another Crook triple put the visitors ahead 55-54 just past the midway mark of the half.
 
The Threshers pulled away over final 9:53, hitting 10 of 19 shots from the field and all eight attempts at the free throw line. Bethel also controlled the boards, pulling in six offensive rebounds. By contrast, McPherson was limited to just 3-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range.
 
Crook finished with a team-high 25 points off the bench behind 6-of-17 shooting. He was also 5-of-11 from 3-point range, hit all eight of his free throw attempts and had a team-high three assists. Bachura added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Henson had nine points and a team-high six rebounds. Thomas Butler (Key West, Fla., Vermilion CC) finished with eight points and five rebounds.
 
Five Threshers finished in double figures, led by Goodwin with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Chris Robinson (14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists) and Jacob Miller (14 points, 14 rebounds) added double-doubles, while Austin Mitchell had 15 points and Chase Banister added 13.
 
Bethel dominated McPherson on the boards, 38-23, overall and won the battle on the offensive boards by a 10-3 margin. The Threshers also forced 18 Bulldog turnovers, racking up 11 steals.
 
McPherson returns to the court Saturday evening when Sterling College (2-6, 1-3 KCAC) visits the Sport Center. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.