Hays, Kan. – The McPherson College men's basketball team was back in action on Sunday afternoon following the holiday break. The Bulldog men went on the road to play an exhibition game against the Fort Hays State University Tigers.
For the first twenty minutes of action, the Bulldogs put a scare into the NCAA DII Tigers. At the first media timeout, the Bulldogs trailed the home team 7-4, but at the next stoppage of play, they had gone on a 13-6 run to take the lead 17-13. From there they were able to stay ahead of the Tigers until the final minutes of the half. At the final media timeout of the half, the Tigers had regained the lead 25-23, but the Bulldogs finished the half strong, and heading into intermission, they trailed by just one, 30-29.
The second half was completely different story. The Bulldogs poked the bear in the first half, and during the break, the Tigers woke up, and were a totally different team in the second 20 minutes of action. They came out firing from behind the three point line, knocking down four three pointers and opening the half on a 15-2 run. The one point halftime deficit had quickly become a 14 point lead, forcing the Bulldogs to call an early timeout.
After the timeout, the Tigers continued to knock down three pointers. They made just three shots from distance in the first half, but they finished the game with twelve. The Bulldogs on the other hand were hitting from down town in the first half, making four of ten, but in the second half were 0 for 4 from behind the arc. The Tigers continued to put pressure on the Bulldogs and pulled away, winning by 28 points, 82-54.
"We had a great first half", said Bulldog head coach
Tim Swartzendruber. "We struggled to score in the second half and Hays got going from the perimeter. It's now time to get focused on the conference. We need to be ready at Ottawa Wednesday."
The Bulldogs had three players finish in double figures in scoring, led by
Lual Magot (Jr. Tucson, Ariz.) who had 12. He was joined in double figures by
Josh Rivers (Fr. Midwest City, Okla.) and
Frederick Watts II (So. Houston, Texas) who each had 10.
Sunday's game with the Tigers was a great opportunity for the Bulldogs to get back on the floor and get their legs back under them after taking a few days off for Christmas Break. As Coach Swartzendruber alluded to, KCAC play get back under way on Wednesday when the team goes on the road to play the Ottawa University Braves. The men will tip-off at 7:00 pm following the women's game at 5:00.
MC (54) – Magot (12), Rivers (10), Watts (10), Hightower (7), Owens (6), Oxford (4), Barideaux (3), Calleros (2).
