Photo by Micah Gilbert
Kansas City, Mo. – The McPherson College men's basketball team extended their current winning streak to four games, remaining perfect in 2020, with an impressive road win, 88-84 over the Avila University Eagles.
The Bulldogs had a strong first half, making 16 of 30 shots from the floor, including 5 of 14 from downtown. Those strong shooting numbers turned into a five point halftime lead for the Bulldogs 43-38. After the intermission, the Eagles came out of the locker room on fire. They opened the half on a 14-3 flipping the five point halftime deficit into a six point lead.
The Bulldogs were stunned, a 15 point swing saw them trailing the home team by 10, 56-46 with just over 5 minutes gone in the second half. But the Bulldogs weren't through. They weathered the storm and began chipping away at the Eagle lead. Five minutes later, they completed the comeback and retook the lead, 64-63, and they wouldn't trail again the rest of the way.
A total of seven Bulldogs found their way into the scoring column against the Eagles, five of them scored in double figures. Kemryn Jenkins (Jr. Eminence, Ky.) had another big night, going 8 of 12 from the floor, including 3 of 7 from deep, and 4 for 4 from the free throw line to lead the Bulldogs with 23 points. Joining him in double figures were Lual Magot (Sr. Tucson, Ariz) with 18, Dorian Paige (Sr. Tucson, Ariz.) with 15, Gage Maccoy (Jr. Lenexa, Kan.) with 13, and Fred Watts (Jr. Channelview, Texas) with 12.
"I'm proud of the effort that all of our guys gave tonight against a very good Avila team on the road," commented Bulldog head coach T.J. Eskildsen. "We talk about being TOUGH all the time and that is exactly what we were tonight. Kemryn was huge for us off the bench to give us a spark offensively. Grant Munsen made some big time hustle plays in the second half that really ignited us. Dorian Paige was also huge for us off the bench. This group continues to battle and are seeing positive results from it."
 With the win, the Bulldogs are now 12-5 on the year and 7-4 in the KCAC which has them in fifth place in the conference standings. They will get a couple of days off before heading back out on the road on Saturday for a 7 p.m. match-up with the Ottawa University Braves.
 MAC (88) – Jenkins (23), Magot (18), Paige (15), Maccoy (13), Watts (12), Hightower (5), Rivers (2).
