Salina, Kan. – The McPherson College men's basketball team went on the road Thursday night and defeated the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes 74-63 in the opening round of the KCAC Conference Tournament.
The Bulldogs qualified for the tournament as the 5th seed, making their first appearance since the 2014-15 season. After the regular season, The Bulldogs were in a three way tie for fourth place in the in the conference standings, but lost out to Kansas Wesleyan in the tiebreaker, dropping to the fifth seed.
The Bulldogs and Coyotes met twelve days ago on the same floor, with KWU coming out on top with a seven point victory 74-67. In that last meeting, the Bulldogs shot very poorly from the floor, making only 22 of 61 of their attempts, and were even worse from beyond the arc, where they went 6 of 29.
Thursday's game was a different story. The Bulldogs were 47% from the field, knocking down 27 of 57 shots and made 7 of 24 of their shots from deep. The only real struggle area was at the free throw line. They made 5 of 6 in the opening half, but were just 8 of 15 in the final twenty minutes of action. Mac won the battle of the boards 38 to 36 and were better in the turnover department, coughing it up just 12 times to 15 for the Coyotes.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 11-7 lead early in the first half, and eventually led by as many as 10 points at the 13:45 mark. The lead was nine with 4:52 remaining before the Coyotes closed out the half on an 11 to 3 run to cut the Bulldog lead to one, 34-33 as the two teams headed into the locker room.
Out of the break, the Coyotes seized the momentum. They went on a 10 to 4 run to start the half, forcing the Bulldogs to call timeout three and a half minutes in, now trailing 43-48. As they have done all season, the Bulldogs weathered the storm and the emotions of the Mabee Arena crowd. They calmly worked themselves back into the game, tying the game at 50 at the 11:41 mark, then retaking the lead 53-52 just over a minute later.
Once the Bulldogs retook the lead at the midway point of the second half, they wouldn't give it back up. The closest the Coyotes got was four points with 4:31 left in the game. The Bulldogs finally started making their free throws down the stretch and ended up with a double digit lead when the final horn sounded.
It was a balanced effort on the offensive end of the floor. Eight players found their way into the scoring column, and four finished with double figures. Fred Watts (Jr. Channelview, Texas), led the Bulldog offense with 17 points, and also had eight rebounds and two steals. Also in double figures were Lual Magot (Sr. Tucson, Ariz.), with 14, Travon Shelvin (So. Pearland, Texas), with 12, and Delvon Hightower (Sr. Bakersfield, Calif.) with 11.
Though it doesn't necessarily show in the box score, Grant Munsen (Sr. Manhattan, Kan.) had a superb game for the Bulldogs on both ends of the floor. He finished with just four points, but made some big hustle plays late in the game, including a couple of big offensive rebounds that ate up a ton of clock, and huge block with just over a minute left in regulation.
"First I would really like to thank all the fans that came out tonight," said an elated Coach Eskildsen. "They were awesome and really gave us a spark. Thank you Bulldog nation!" He added, "I am so proud of our guys tonight and the toughness they showed. When we needed to make a play it seemed like there was always someone who stepped up. Grant Munsen was huge down the stretch on the glass and at the defensive end. Travon Shelvin made some big shots, and Fred watts was huge all night. Everyone contributed to the win! Now we must prepare for a great Ottawa team on Saturday. Survive and advance!"
With the win, the bulldogs move to 21-10 on the season, and will play again on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals against the Ottawa University Braves in Ottawa. The Bulldogs and Braves met last weekend in the regular season finale, with the Braves escaping with a two point victory on the Bulldogs' home floor.
