McPherson, Kan. – When the McPherson College and Central Christian College men's basketball teams meet on the hard wood, you can usually count on it being a hard fought, action packed affair. The 2018-19 installment, billed this year as the "Mayors Cup", turned out to be no different, and lived up to the hype. The game was originally set to be played on the campus of Central Christian College, but when the McPherson Mayor got involved, the game was moved to the McPherson High School Roundhouse.
The atmosphere in the Roundhouse, which has seen a plethora of great basketball games over the years, was electric.
Steve Sell, who has covered sport in McPherson for nearly 40 years, commented before the men's game that he thought Wednesday night's matchup was going to be another good one, and he was spot on.
The Tigers came out in the opening half, and used their length and athleticism to speed up the Bulldogs, forcing them into hurried shots. The Tigers opened the season with a tough loss on the road a Haskell University last weekend, where they didn't shoot the ball well, thanks in large part to a tough zone defense employed by Haskell. The Bulldog coaching staff had done their homework on the Tigers, and they decided in a similar game plan, playing zone for most if not all of the first half.
For the most part, the strategy worked. They held the Tigers to 37% shooting from the floor in the opening half, and just 25% from behind the arc. Though the defense was solid, the Bulldogs couldn't fins away to knock down shots in the first half, and by the intermission, the Tigers had a comfortable 13 point lead, 35-22.
Coach Swartzendruber must have given a great speech in the locker room at halftime because the Bulldogs were a completely different team to start the second half. They were calm and compose, letting the game come to them, and not forcing anything. As a result, they opened the half on a 12-2 run to cut the Tiger lead to one point, 37-36 just five minutes into the half.
The Bulldogs continued to put pressure on the Tigers, turning the tables on them, and forcing them into some sloppy play. At the 11:08 mark,
Chamaje Barideaux (So. New Iberia, La.), hit a back to back three pointers to erase the 13 point halftime deficit, and put his team up 5, 48-43. On the next Bulldog possession,
Jeffrey Oxford (So. Claremore, Okla.), made a layup that put the team seven, with 8:46 left in regulation.
Leading by seven after the 20 point swing, the Bulldogs looked like they might pull of the improbable. The Tigers were not handling the Bulldog pressure well, and they were rushing their shots. The Tigers are talented, experienced, and well coached, and where a couple of years ago, they may have panicked, this year's squad didn't. Central went on a 7-0 run and tied the game up at 50. Mac's
Josh Rivers (Fr. Midwest City, Okla.) stopped the Tigers' momentum with a huge three pointer to put the Bulldogs back up by three at the 5:30 mark.
Over the final five minutes of action, the Tigers caught fire from behind the three point arc. They hit four three pointers in a 5 possession span, and suddenly the Bulldogs found themselves going from up by three points, to now trailing by 6 with just over a minute left on the clock. A pair of free throws by Dorian Page, (Jr. Tucson, Ariz) cut the Tiger lead to four, 64-60, but that would be the closest the Bulldogs would get. The Tigers put the game away at the free throw line, finishing off the Bulldogs 68-60.
Barideaux led the scoring effort for the Bulldogs with 17 points, of 5 of 9 shooting from the floor, and making 3 of 4 from the free throw line. There was only one other Bulldog in double figures, Oxford, who chipped in 10.
"The first half was disappointing," said Coach Swartzendruber,"but I was pleased the way we responded in the second half." He added, "Give Central credit, they made some tough shots down the stretch. We need to move on and be ready for conference play. Our conference schedule is grueling."
With the loss, the Bulldogs move to 3-1 on the season. They will get a few days off before conference play gets started next week when the preseason favorites, the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles come to town on Wednesday. Game time is slated for 8:00 pm in the Sport Center, following the women's game at 6:00 pm.
MC (60) – Barideaux (17), Oxford (10), Page (7), Munsen (6), Magot (6) Owen (5), Hightower (4), Rivers (3), Watts (2).
