WINFIELD, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College men's basketball team had six score in double figures, but the Bulldogs could not overcome a hot shooting night by Southwestern College as the Moundbuilders posted a 93-78 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) victory Thursday night at Stewart Field House.
The Bulldogs (7-12, 1-10 KCAC) grabbed the initial lead of the game on a hoop by
Reed Rowell (Topeka, Kan., Butler CC) just 40 seconds in. The lead held for the next 90 seconds before Cameron Hunt got the Moundbuilders (13-6, 6-5 KCAC) on the board with a layup at the 17:39 mark.
Thomas Butler (Key West, Fla., Vermilion CC) put McPherson back into the lead on the Bulldogs' next trip down the floor, but a 3-pointer by Barrington Hunter gave Southwestern a lead it would not relinquish.
The Moundbuilders built the lead to eight points as the game approached the 12:00 mark, but the Bulldogs were able to respond with six straight points – five by
Ryan O'Hara (San Antonio, Texas, Cedar Valley CC) – to make it a two-point game. Southwestern countered with a 12-6 run to return the lead to eight at 34-26 with 6:20 remaining.
McPherson chipped away at the lead, using a 9-1 run capped by an
Aaron Bachura (Wilsey, Kan., Council Grove HS) layup to tie the game at 35-35 with 3:09 to play in the half. Another Hunter 3-pointer put the Moundbuilders ahead, but the Bulldogs tied the game back up on three straight points from
Chris Crook (Oklahoma City, Okla., Millwood HS) after a technical foul was assessed to the Southwestern bench. The Moundbuilders finished the half on a 10-2 run over a final 2:30 that saw two more technical fouls called – both on McPherson. The lone Bulldog points over the stretch came on a layup by Rowell with 2:02 left.
The teams played on even terms through the first 2:30 of the second half, pushing the score to 54-46 before the Builders embarked upon a 17-3 run over the ensuing 5:30 to build the lead to 22 points.
McPherson rallied to cut the deficit to just 10 at 86-76 on a layup by
DeAndre Henson (Aberdeen, Md., Cloud County CC) with 2:55 remaining but could get no closer as Southwestern finished the game with seven of the final nine points.
Southwestern shot 58.2 percent (32-of-55) overall, including a blistering 64.0 percent (16-of-25) from the field in the second half. The Moundbuilders also finished 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range and hit 19 of 30 free throw attempts.
Hunt led all players with 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. He was also 8-of-9 at the line and had six rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks. Alan Hodge added 16 points and four assists, while Hunter had 14 points and five rebounds off the bench. DJ Wallace was the fourth Southwestern player in double figures with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and a block.
After shooting 44.1 percent (15-of-34) from the field in the first half, McPherson cooled to just 36.7 percent (11-of-30) in the second half to finish at 40.6 percent overall. The Bulldogs were 7-of-24 from behind the arc, but were successful on 19 of 24 attempts from the charity stripe.
Bachura led six Bulldogs in double figures with 14 points, but just three came after halftime. Rowell added 13 points, a game-high eight rebounds and four assists, while Henson, Crook and
Grant Raleigh (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) each had 12. Crook also had three assists and five rebounds. O'Hara tallied 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and had four rebounds. Butler – with four points – was the only other Bulldog to find the scoring column.
Southwestern held a slim 34-33 edge in rebounds overall, but McPherson won the battle on the offensive boards by a 12-6 margin. Both teams committed nine turnovers.
"We had great effort tonight," remarked head coach
Tim Swartzendruber. "Unfortunately, we had that bad stretch at the start of the second half and we never recovered. Southwestern was a tough matchup with their quickness. They shoot the ball extremely well."
The Bulldogs start the second half of the KCAC slate Saturday afternoon with a game at rival Bethany College in Lindsborg. Tipoff from Hahn Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m.
