McPherson, Kan. – Like the women before them, the McPherson College men's basketball team picked up their first win of 2019 by defeating Avila University at home, 82-75. The Bulldogs also snapped a three game losing streak, and more importantly, picked up their first home KCAC win of the season.
The difference maker for the Bulldogs against the Eagles on Monday night was on the glass. The Bulldogs dominated the boards, out rebounding the Eagles 43-28. Fifteen of their rebounds were on the offensive end of the floor, and they turned those offensive boards in 16 second chance points. Other than that, the stats were relatively even.
The Bulldogs had a slight edge shooting the ball from the floor. They made 29 of their 65 attempts while the Eagles were 27 of 56. Both teams knocked down eight three pointers but the Bulldogs had a better percentage, making 8 of 24 while the Eagles were 9 of 27. At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs were 16 of 21 for 76%, while Avila knocked down 13 of their 21 attempts.
The Eagles scored the games' first basket, a layup to give them a 2-0 lead, but on the next possession,
Chamaje Barideaux (So. New Iberia, La.), hit a three pointer, to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game. The Eagles made another two point basket to retake the lead 4-3, but the Bulldogs responded with a layup by
Josh Rivers (Fr. Midwest City, Okla.) to put themselves up 5-4. After an empty possession by the Eagles, a thunderous one handed dunk by
Grant Owens (Fr. Buhler, Kan.), made the score 7-4 in favor of the home team.
From there, the Bulldogs would lead the Eagles for the next 10 minutes. At the 7:57 mark in the first half, the Eagles hit a three pointer to retake the lead 25-24. Again the Bulldogs responded with a layup, this time by
Jeffrey Oxford (So. Claremore, Okla.), retaking the lead 26-25. Over the final six minutes of the half, the Bulldogs and Eagles went back and forth. The Bulldogs led by as many as six points, 35-29, with just over three minutes to play, but Avila closed out the half on a 10-4 run to tie the game at 39 as time ran out in the half.
The second half was much the same, with one tie, and four lead changes in the opening four minutes of action. The Bulldogs opened up a five point cushion, 52-47, at the 14:37 mark, but Avila scored four unanswered to get back to within one of the Bulldogs, two minutes later. With just under ten minutes remaining in the game, the Eagles took their first lead of the half 53-52, and there were many in the crowd who probably thought the Bulldogs were going to let Avila go on a run and extend the lead, because that has been the Bulldogs' m.o. first three games of the month.
This time however, things were different. The Bulldogs didn't let their opponent go on a run and extend the lead. Oxford hit a huge three pointer to put the Bulldogs up by 2, 55-53. Avila tied the game at 55 on their next possession, but another huge three pointer, this one by Rivers, put the home team back up by 3, 58-55. Owens then hit a big hook shot in the paint, the next time down the floor, to put the Bulldogs back up by 5, 60-55.
Again the Eagles scored six unanswered points to retake the lead 61-60, with 5:22 remaining in regulation. The Bulldogs refused to panic, and after another hook shot by Owens found the bottom of the net, giving McPherson back the lead, 62-61, they would not relinquish it the rest of the way. Avila was forced to foul, and the Bulldogs made 13 of their 16 attempts in the final 4 minutes to win by seven, 82-75.
Rivers led all scorers in the game with a career high 22 points. He was 6 of 9 from the floor, including 2 of 4 from deep, and a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line. He was joined in double figures by
Delvon Hightower (Jr. Bakersfield, Calif.), with 14, and Owens, who had 10.
McPherson head coach,
Tim Swartzendruber, commented on the win saying, "When you are going through a losing streak it is tough to feel good about yourselves. Tonight I'm very proud of our team. We have maintained a good attitude and continued to work hard. We made winning plays down the stretch. Now we need to be ready at Tabor."
As Swartzendruber eluded to, the next test for the Bulldogs is a road trip to Hillsboro, Kan. on Wednesday to take on the Tabor College Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are currently winless in 2019 and are mired in 7 game winless streak. The Bulldogs and Jays will tip-off at 8:00 pm following the women's game.
MC (82) – Rivers (22), Hightower (14), Owens (10), Barideaux (8), Oxford (7), Munsen (7), Watts (5), Gurley (4), Shelvin (3), Magot (2).
