McPHERSON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- Led by 29 points from senior
Aaron Bachura (Wilsey, Kan., Council Grove HS), the McPherson College men's basketball team was able to exorcise some demons Saturday evening with an 87-80 victory over Tabor College at the Sport Center.
It was the type of close-out performance the team needed, especially after letting a 20-point halftime lead slip away Wednesday night in an overtime loss to Bethany.
The game started inauspiciously for the Bulldogs (5-17, 2-12 KCAC), who turned the ball over almost immediately after winning the opening tip. The team recovered, though, taking a 5-0 lead on a layup by
Frederick Watts (Houston, Texas, Channelview HS) and a 3-pointer by
Garrett Owen (Woodward, Okla., Woodward HS). The Bluejays (9-11, 8-6 KCAC) rallied for the next four points to cut the deficit to just one, but McPherson followed that with a 16-5 run capped by a thunderous slam dunk by
Grant Munsen (Manhattan, Kan., Manhattan HS) that gave the Bulldogs a 21-9 lead with 12:12 to play in the half. Munsen also hit his first career 3-pointer during the stretch.
Bachura gave McPherson a 13-point lead on a 3-pointer two possessions later, but Tabor slowly began to chip away at the Bulldog advantage. The Bluejays outscored the Bulldogs, 15-3, over a seven-minute stretch to cut the lead back to one on a DeShun Patterson 3-pointer with 4:13 left in the half. McPherson was just 1-of-9 from the field with six turnovers during the Bluejays' run as the only points came from another Bachura 3-pointer. The Bulldogs battled back, though, and scored five of the last seven points of the half to lead 32-28 at the break.
McPherson started the second half off well, forcing a pair of turnovers and scoring six straight points to build a double-digit lead. The lead grew to 15 on an Owen 3-pointer with 15:15 to play, but an 11-3 run powered by six points from Jordan Horstick and capped by a 3-pointer from Michael Russell drew Tabor back to within single-digits at 51-44 with 13:09 remaining. The Bulldogs responded with a 12-3 run of their own.
Taylor Ellison (Tulsa, Okla., Memorial HS) scored the final five McPherson points to put the Bulldogs up 63-47 as the halfway point of the second half came and went.
The Bluejays continued to attack on both ends of the floor, forcing turnovers on the defensive end and drawing fouls on made layups at the offensive end, all the while whittling away at the McPherson lead. Tabor scored 12 straight points in just 2:30 to trim the deficit to just four. Alan Urrutia (7) and Jon Manjon Beristain (5) accounted for all of the Bluejays' points during the run. Tabor would get no closer, though, as the Bulldogs would make 12 straight free throws in the final two minutes to keep the game out of reach.
Both teams shot at or near their season averages in the contest. Tabor finished at 45.2 percent (28-of-62) overall, including a 51.4-percent (18-of-35) clip in the second half. McPherson was at 43.1 percent (28-of-65) overall and hit 51.6 percent (16-of-31) after the break. The differences came from behind the arc, where the Bulldogs connected on half of their 24 attempts from long range, while the Bluejays were just 7-of-28. At the line, McPherson finished 19-of-21 overall, while Tabor was 17-of-21.
The Bluejays held a 38-36 advantage on the boards but also committed 20 turnovers compared to the Bulldogs' 15.
Bachura finished 8-of-15 from the field, including 7-of-14 from 3-point range, and a perfect 6-of-6 at the line. He also had four assists, four boards and a steal. Bachura's seven 3-pointers matched a career-high. With 59 points this week, he bumped his career scoring total to 1,149 points and moved past Wayne Blickenstaff (1,121), Robb Collins (1,122) and Antonio Ford (1,141) into 17th place on McPherson's all-time scoring chart. Next up are Bill Smith in 16th place with 1,153 points and Chris Crook in 15th place with 1,183 points.
Owen added 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Oxford had 12 points and Munsen had 11 points, four boards and three steals. Watts and Ellison had eight points apiece and
Lual Magot (Tucson, Ariz., Tohono O'odham CC) hauled in a team-high seven rebounds.
Urrutia led five Bluejays in double figures with 12 points. He also had four assists and three rebounds. Diontre Cutliff added 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Horstick tallied 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Patterson chipped in with 11 points and Beristain had 10.
"I am extremely proud of this team," said head coach
Tim Swartzendruber. "We have had much adversity to overcome this year. After having a disappointing loss Wednesday, it was great to see us finish. A big 'thank you' to the fans who were here tonight."
Saturday night's win was the first for McPherson over Tabor in nearly five years dating back to a 77-71 Bulldog victory in Hillsboro on Jan. 23, 2013. The last win over the Bluejays in McPherson came the previous year - a 68-66 win on Feb. 25, 2012, in the semifinals of the KCAC Tournament.
The Bulldogs will look to build off Saturday's victory when they visit sixth-ranked Southwestern College on Wednesday. The Moundbuilders (20-2, 13-1 KCAC), who have a four-game lead in the league standings and are 10-0 at home this season, have won seven straight and are coming off a 71-67 victory at Sterling Saturday evening. Tipoff from Stewart Field House in Winfield is slated for 8 p.m.
