McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College men's basketball jumped out to a 22-point first-half lead but could not hold on as York College charged back for a 103-98 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) victory Tuesday night at the Sport Center.
The Bulldogs (1-12, 0-8 KCAC) sprinted out to a 29-8 after just six minutes behind 18 points from a hot-shooting
Aaron Bachura (Wilsey, Kan., Council Grove HS). As a team, McPherson hit 11 of its first 14 shots, including six of seven from behind the arc. The Panthers (8-5, 5-3 KCAC) responded with seven straight points only to see McPherson counter with eight in a row on 3-pointers by
Garrett Owen (Woodward, Okla., Woodward HS) and
Grant Raleigh (Hesston, Kan., Hesston HS) and another basket by Bachura to give the Bulldogs a 22-point lead with 9:34 to play.
York followed with a 19-5 run over the next 6:42 to slice the Bulldog lead to eight. The Panthers scored the first nine points as McPherson missed 11 straight shots before
Frederick Watts (Houston, Texas, Channelview HS) sank the first of back-to-back shots at the 4:44 mark. Fouled on the second basket, Watts hit the free throw to push his personal run to five straight points. York countered with another 10 points capped by a Trevor Lenear 3-pointer at the 2:52 mark to make it 42-34.
The Bulldogs outscored the Panthers, 9-4, down the stretch to take a 51-38 lead at the break.
McPherson opened the half on a 7-3 run to push the lead to 17 with 17:30 to play - a run that included a Bachura 3-pointer from the corner at the 17:53 mark that allowed the senior captain to reach 1,000 career points.
The Panthers chipped away at the lead over the next 7:32, outscoring the Bulldogs, 31-13, to take a 72-71 lead on a layup by Lenear just past the midway point of the half.
After trading the lead back and forth for the next 90 seconds, York used a 10-2 run to build an 8-0 lead at 88-80 with 6:09 remaining. McPherson rallied for 11 of the next 15 points to cut the Panther lead to just one at 92-91 on a pair of Owen free throws with 2:30 to play but could get no closer.
Each team finished with five players in double figures. Bachura led all players with 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including a 7-of-11 effort from behind the 3-point arc. He also had four assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Raleigh added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while
Grant Munsen (Manhattan, Kan., Manhattan HS) had 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
Watts chipped in with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, while
Jeffrey Oxford (Claremore, Okla., Claremore HS) added 10 points and
Louis Parker III (Midwest City, Okla., Midwest City HS) had seven rebounds off the bench. Owen added nine points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals.
The Bulldogs shot nearly 50 percent (20-of-42) from the field in the first half, but cooled to just 40 percent (16-of-40) in the second half. McPherson also fell off from behind the arc in the second half, hitting on just 4 of 13 attempts after going 9-of-18 in the opening half. They started the game 8-of-10 from long range. The Bulldogs were efficient at the line, converting 13 of 14 attempts, including 11 of 12 in the second half.
The Panthers shot a respectable 40.5 percent (15-of-37) from the field in the first half, but responded with a 54.8 percent (23-of-42) effort in the second half. York was also effective at getting to the line, converting on 19 of 27 attempts, including 15 of 20 in the second half.
Trevor Lenear finished with 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including four 3-pointers. He added four rebounds and four assists. Mark Dean had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Patrick Burnett posted 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
With his 3-pointer early in the second half, Bachura became the 21st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Next up on the all-time scoring list is Matt Richardson - father of current Bulldog women's player Cami Richardson - in 20th place with 1,055 points.
"We continue to play people close," said head coach
Tim Swartzendruber. " The fact we haven't won has become a mental block. When York made its run we weren't tough enough. We have gotten better offensively, but, tonight, our defense wasn't up to par."
McPherson will practice Wednesday before heading to Lawrence on Thursday to face Haskell Indian Nations University (2-11). The Bulldogs picked up their lone win of the season against the Indians - a 104-69 victory at the McPherson Classic on Nov. 3. Parker had game-highs with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the initial meeting.
