Men's Basketball Holds Off Late Rally By Saint Mary

McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- The McPherson College men's basketball team held off a late charge by the University of Saint Mary and remained in contention for a spot in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Tournament with an 89-85 victory Thursday night at the Sport Center.

McPherson (12-15, 6-13 KCAC) struck first, winning the opening tip and immediately taking the lead on a 3-pointer by Aaron Bachura (Wilsey, Kan., Council Grove HS). The teams traded the lead back and forth over the first three minutes before Bachura hit back-to-back shots to put the Bulldogs up 11-7. Saint Mary (20-8, 12-7 KCAC) rallied behind Grant Greenberg - one of the NAIA's leading scorers - to tie the game at 15 at the 13:00 mark. The Bulldogs responded with an 18-7 run over a five-minute span to build an 11-point lead. Thomas Butler (Key West, Fla., Vermilion CC) scored six points during the stretch, which was capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Garrett Owen (Woodward, Okla., Woodward HS) and Aaron Bachura (Wilsey, Kan., Council Grove HS).

The Spires scored the next five points to get back within six, but the rally was short-lived as DeAndre Henson (Aberdeen, Md., Cloud County CC) converted a traditional three-point play and Bachura completed a four-point play after being fouled on a made 3-pointer to put McPherson up 40-27 with 4:47 left in the half. Greenberg cut the deficit to seven with a pair of traditional 3-point plays, making it 40-33 with 3:51 to play before Careino Gurley (Minneapolis, Minn., Rochester CTC) responded with a layup underneath. Greenberg - who had 20 points in the first half - sank a pair of free throws, but Bachura answered with a 3-pointer at the elbow to make it a double-digit lead. A basket by Gurley off a Bachura miss left the Bulldogs with a 47-35 lead as the clock ticked under 2:00 to play, but USM rallied for six points in the next minute to halve the deficit. Raleigh added a basked in the final 30 seconds to send McPherson into the halftime break with a 49-41 lead.

USM struck first in the second half as Greenberg drained yet another 3-pointer. After Reed Rowell (Topeka, Kan., Butler CC) and Kenneth Banks traded layups, the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run on the shoulders of Henson and Rowell to push the lead to 14. Greenberg followed with consecutive 3-pointers to cut the lead to eight, but Owen countered with back-to-back threes of his own to send McPherson off on an 18-6 run that put McPherson up by 20 at the midpoint of the half.

The Spires scored 15 of the next 18 points over the next four minutes, cutting the lead to just eight on a hoop and a free throw by Xavier Young with 6:02 left. Gurley ended the run with a hoop, while Butler sank a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs a 12-point lead with just five minutes to play. A Keiron Sauer layup was matched by a pair of free throws by Raleigh at the 4:33 mark, but Saint Mary continue to chip away. USM scored the next 10 points, getting to with in two at 87-85 when Greenberg hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 1:47 remaining.

Saint Mary continued to attack the basket after a pair of empty possessions for the Bulldogs, but the wind was taken out of their sails by charging calls on successive possessions. Butler sealed the McPherson victory with a pair of free throws with eight seconds to play.

Both teams shot over 55 percent in the game, with McPherson knocking down 56.9 percent (33-of-58) of its shots from the field and Saint Mary hitting 55.4 percent (31-of-56). Both teams finished with 10 3-pointers and shot over 80 percent from the line -- the Spires at 81.3 percent (13-of-16), the Bulldogs at 92.9 percent (13-of-14). McPherson also held a 29-24 advantage on the boards and committed 12 turnovers to USM's 14.

Grant Greenberg -- the all-time leading scorer in Kansas collegiate basketball history -- finished with 41 points on 14-of-24 shooting. He was also a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line and had five assists. No other Spire reached such lofty heights as double figures as Sauer and Reid Titus each finished with eight. Sauer also pulled down a team-high five rebounds and had three assists and a steal.

By contrast, five Bulldogs reached double figures, led by Bachura with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting with four 3-pointers. Henson added 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Owen finished with 11 points, four assists, three boards and a pair of steals. Raleigh and Butler each tallied 10 points with Butler adding a game-high eight rebounds. Gurley and Rowell both finished with eight, while Ryan O'Hara (San Antonio, Texas, Cedar Valley CC) added six to round out McPherson's scoring line.

"This was a great team win," remarked head coach Tim Swartzendruber. "Our guys continued to work hard despite some difficult losses. I'm proud of them. I hope we get great support against a very-talented York team Saturday."

McPherson, which finishes the regular season with three of its final four games at home, entertains York College on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. The Panthers won the initial meeting, 115-103, on Jan. 5 in York. Aaron Bachura scored a career-high 34 points in that game as the Bulldogs cut a 23-point first half deficit to just four with 3:20 to play. The two teams combined for 26 3-pointers, including seven from Bachura. McPherson must win at least two of last three games in order to have a shot at the No. 8 seed in the KCAC Tournament.

Live video and stats can be found at macbulldogs.com/gamecast. Matt Cole and Steve Sell will have the radio call, which can be found on 96.7 FM KBBE in the McPherson area or online at midkansasradio.com.