McPherson, Kan. – This season, the McPherson Sport Center has been a lot friendlier place to play for the visiting teams than for the Bulldog men's basketball team. Heading into tonight's game with the University of Saint Mary Spires, the Bulldog's only KCAC wins have come on the road. The last time the Bulldogs won at the Sport Center, was the first weekend of November.
In the first half against USM on Saturday, the Bulldogs were 14 of 30 from the floor, and 2 of 7 from behind the three point arc. Conversely, the Spires were 19 of 27, and a jaw dropping 77% on three point shots, making 10 of 13. That kind shooting of the Tabor game a couple of weeks ago, and it led to an 18 point lead for the Spires at the break, 55-37.
In the second half, things evened out. The Spires came down to earth, and shot a more realistic 36% on three pointers, and the Bulldogs were able to win the half 44-40, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to overcome the hot first half shooting of the Spires. The Bulldogs ultimately fell to the Spires 95-81.
Four Bulldogs landed in double figures in the scoring column, led by
Grant Munsen (Jr. Manhattan, Kan.), with 14. Right behind Munsen, was
Taylor Ellison (Sr. Tulsa, Okla.), with 13, and
Frederick Watts II (So. Houston, Texas), with 12.
Josh Rivers (Fr. Midwest City, Okla.), who has started the past few games due to injuries to Dorian Page (Jr. Tucson, Ariz.), and
Garrett Owen (Jr. Woodward, Okla.), finished with 10 points, his first game in double figures.
Bulldog head coach,
Tim Swartzendruber, summed up the loss saying, "Give Saint Mary credit. They shot extremely well in the first half and then when we made our run they held us off. We fought hard in the second half. Unfortunately it was too big a hole."
With the loss, the Bulldogs are now 6-8 on the year and 3-7 in the KCAC. They will try and wrap up the first semester with a win, when they travel to play Haskell Indian Nations University on Tuesday. The matchup with the Indians is slated for 5:00 pm.
MC (81) – Munsen (14), Ellison (13), Watts (12), Rivers (10), Barideaux (9), Gurley (8), Magot (6), Hightower (5), Oxford (4).
