NORTH NEWTON, Kan. (macbulldogs.com) --- Four McPherson College men's basketball players scored in double figures, led by freshman
Chamaje Barideaux (New Iberia, La., New Iberia Senior HS) with 19 off the bench, as the Bulldogs closed out the season with an 86-79 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) victory over Bethel College Saturday night at Thresher Gymnasium.
There was a finality to Saturday's game. There was going to be no tomorrow, no second chance for the men in Red and White, and the team knew it going in. A potential spot in the KCAC Tournament had fallen away a fortnight before, but the Bulldogs (11-19, 8-14 KCAC) continued to battle on, winning six of their last seven games - culminating with the win over the Threshers (7-22, 5-17 KCAC).
Bethel grabbed the initial lead of the game on a Sam Morgan fast-break hoop just over a minute in, but McPherson responded with an 18-6 run over the next 7:30 to build a 10-point lead.
Taylor Ellison (Tulsa, Okla., Memorial HS) capped the run by draining back-to-back 3-pointers.
A pair of baskets by Trey Sleep drew the Threshers within six with 8:34 to play in the half. The Bulldogs rallied for 12 of the next 14 points to push the lead to 16 on a
Frederick Watts (Houston, Texas, Channelview HS) layup with 5:51 to play.
Aaron Bachura (Wilsey, Kan., Council Grove HS) had seven points during the McPherson run. Chase Banister cut the Bethel deficit to 10 on a basket with just under three minutes remaining, but the Threshers would get no closer the rest of the half. The Bulldogs finished the half on a 10-4 run, leading by as many as 18 in the final seconds before Terrell Marshall hit a shot to make it a 44-28 ball game at the break.
McPherson shot 45.2 percent (14-of-31) from the field in the first half with five 3-pointers and was 11-of-12 at the line. Bethel shot 40.0 percent (12-of-30) from the field but was hamstrung by an 0-of-10 effort from behind the arc.
The Bulldogs scored four of the first five points of the second half, taking a 19-point lead when Bachura put back his own miss at the 18:03 mark. The Threshers would chip away at the lead throughout the half, with the final push being led by Banister. Sparked by a pair of free throws that brought the deficit back to single digits with 5:32 to play, he single-handedly outscored McPherson, 10-4, over the next two minutes to draw Bethel to within 75-71 at the 3:35 mark.
The Threshers could not maintain the momentum, however, as the Bulldogs scored seven of the next eight to lead by 10 with just 1:13 to play. Two free throws each by
Jeffrey Oxford (Claremore, Okla., Claremore HS) and Barideaux helped keep Bethel at arm's length.
Barideaux finished with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He was perfect from both the 3-point line (3-of-3) and the charity stripe (4-of-4) while also posting four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Oxford tallied 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five boards, three assists and a pair of steals.
Lual Magot (Tucson, Ariz., Tohono O'odham CC) was the final Bulldog freshman in double figures, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds.
Bachura - who closed the book on a solid career with Saturday's victory - scored 14 points to move his career total to 1,322 - good for 11th on McPherson's all-time scoring chart. He also moved his new single-season mark for made 3-pointers to 99, finishing his career with 268 overall.
Louis Parker III (Midwest City, Okla., Midwest City HS) and Watts posted seven points apiece with Watts also hauling in a team-high six rebounds.
Banister scored 25 points on 7-of-15 shooting with four 3-pointers to lead Bethel. He also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Marshall added 13 points and 11 assists, while Sleep had 10 points.
"Winning our final game and six of our final seven makes for a great end to our year," said head coach
Tim Swartzendruber. " I am happy for Aaron (Bachura) that we could end our season on a positive. Our future is bright. Our freshmen showed great improvement through the season and our sophomores and juniors also improved. We are certainly excited about the future. A shout-out to all the students and fans who made the trip to Bethel. We had a great crowd."
