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McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College men's basketball team will honor their lone senior Kyle Lakin on Saturday the 20th as the 'Dogs take on the University of Saint Mary for Senior Night; the JV will play Central Christian College at 12:00 p.m. (CT) and the varsity contest with the Spires is set for a 5:00 start.
Scouting McPherson
A very young Bulldog squad sits at 8-21 this season and are 4-15 in the KCAC. The team is officially out of postseason play but that hasn't stopped this team from competing as evident from their 72-57 victory at Sterling College this past Thursday.
Last Time Out – The 'Dogs were slow out of the gate but once they got going, they started putting points up in bunches. Mac went on a 17-2 run, fueled by their bench, to take a 33-19 advantage; they were able to stay ahead by double figures throughout the rest of the half and led 36-23 at the break. The Warriors on their Senior Night charged out of halftime with a 6-0 run to pull within seven but the Bulldogs answered with a 10-0 stretch themselves, putting them up 17 just past the five-minute mark in the period. McPherson never allowed SC back into the game and went on to win 72-57. The 'Dogs cashed in on 24-of-67 for the night with 14-of-29 three balls falling through, 48.3%; they converted on 10-of-13 free throws. The team gobbled up 41 rebounds with 11 offensive boards; MC also had 17 turnovers, 12 assists, and six steals.
Chris Crook led Mac in scoring with 20 on 5-of-14 field goals and 8-of-9 free throws; 16 of his total points came in the second half. Dee Roberts netted 17 points, making 5-of-8 threes as well as a two-point bucket. DeAndre Henson came from the bench to score his 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Reed Rowell pulled in 13 boards to go with his four points.
ALL STATISTICS ARE FROM KCAC GAMES ONLY
Year at a Glance – Mac is scoring 73.4 points each time out while allowing 82.2; they are at the bottom of the league in scoring margin at -6.8. The 'Dogs connect on 41.9% from the field and a KCAC second-best 35.9% from deep; they are also second in free throw percentage at 73.9%. The team is second in the conference in three-point buckets each time out with 9.2. McPherson grabs 37.4 boards every game and also log 11.1 assists, 5.5 steals, and 2.1 blocks.
Crook buckets 20.1 points each time he hits the court; he has made 45-of-127 three balls and 100-of-119 from the stripe. Roberts averages 14.2 points a game and is second on the team in threes with 38 makes. Henson cracks into double figures every now and then, averaging 8.6 points a night.
Bulldogs in the National Rankings – Mac is 17th in the NAIA D-II in three-point makes with 256 and is 18th in free throw percentage at 64.3% for the year.
Regardless of the outcome of Saturday's contest, the Bulldogs will be done for 2015-16 and looking to the offseason with all but one able to return.
Scouting University of Saint Mary
The Spires are 15-12 for the season and 10-9 in the conference; they are 6-3 in the second round of KCAC play. The team sits third in the league standings and can finish third or sixth depending on the outcome of Saturday's contest. USM will head into their bout with Mac following a blowout 87-56 win over Oklahoma Wesleyan University on this past Thursday.
Last Time Out – After trailing for the first half of the first half, never by more than a few, Saint Mary put a run together to take the lead with less than five to go; they would push their advantage to double-digits and were up 43-30 at the break. USM led by 10+ for all but one possession in the second and increased their lead to 20 with seven minutes remaining; they coasted for the 87-56 win. The Spires connected on 42.9% from the floor for the game with 30-of-70 field goals falling including 10-of-26 from range; they were 17-of-24 from the line. The team pulled down 44 rebounds, though they lost the rebounding battle 53-44 after giving up 20 offensive boards to OKWU; Saint Mary also tallied 18 assists, 12 steals, 11 turnovers, and three blocks.
Grant Greenberg entered the game from the bench for the first time all season, likely allowing a senior to start in his place for USM's final home game of the year; the junior, who ranks third in the NAIA in total scoring, netted 26 points on 9-of-16 field goals and a perfect 6-of-6 free throws. Jordan Thomas put 13 points on the board on his 4-of-11 shooting with 2-of-4 foul shots; he logged a team-high four assists. Both Trent Richardson and Forrest Hicks scored 10 points for the Spires.
ALL STATISTICS ARE FROM KCAC GAMES ONLY
Year at a Glance – Saint Mary is fourth in the league in scoring with their 80.9 average; they allow 77.7 to their opponents for a conference third-best 3.4 scoring margin. The team drops 44.1% of their field goals through the net with 34% falling from deep; they are third in the KCAC in free throw percentage at 73.7%. The Spires average 37.6 rebounds a game to go with their 13.5 assists, 7.0 steals, and 2.9 blocks; they are second in the league in assists.
Greenberg puts up 25.5 points each time out and has made a team-high 158 field goals with 35 coming from range; he gets to the foul line often as well, converting on 134-of-156. Thomas is next on the scoring list with a 13.1 average; he is second in three-point makes with 34-of-105 going through. Andre Clark scores 8.2 points per game, shooting in 48.4% from the floor.
