Photo by Jakob Komel
Ottawa, Kan. – The McPherson College men's basketball team's resurgent season came to an end on Saturday night with an 87-78 loss to Ottawa University in the KCAC tournament semi-finals.
For the majority of the game, the Bulldogs and Braves played within two possessions of each other. The largest lead for either team was until the final minutes, was five points. Throughout the game there were ten ties, and eight lead changes. By the intermission, the Bulldogs had a slim two point lead, 42-40.
It was more of the same in the second half. The Bulldogs led for most of the half, but toward the end, the Braves found a way to create some separation from the Bulldogs. At 3:56 mark in the half, the game was tied for the final time at 78. Over the course of the final four minutes of action, the Braves outscored the Bulldogs 9-0.
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by and 18 point performance from Dorian Paige (Sr. Tucson, Ariz.). Join him in were Gage Maccoy (Jr. Lenexa, Kan.) with 16, Delvon Hightower (Sr. Bakersfield, Calif.) with 15, Lual Magot (Sr. Tucson, Ariz.) with 12, and Travon Shelvin (So. Pearland, Texas) with 11.
"Tough loss tonight to a very good Ottawa team," said Bulldog head coach T.J. Eskildsen. "It was such a privilege to coach this group of young men this year. Our four seniors Delvon Hightower, Dorian Paige, Lual Magot, and Grant Munsen showed tremendous toughness both tonight and all year. We are really going to miss those guys." Eskildsen added, "I am excited about the future of Bulldog basketball with the guys we have returning. I can't wait to see what the future holds for these guys."
It was an amazing season for the Bulldogs, one in which they doubled their win total from the previous season, winning 20+ games for the first time since 2011-12. They were picked to finish 10th in the conference in the pre-season coaches poll but ended up in a tie for fourth place. They qualified for the KCAC tournament for the first time since 2014-15, and won a tournament game for the first time since 2012-13.
They finished the year with an overall record of 21-11 and 15-9 in the KCAC. They will return the majority of guys from this year's team, though the four guys they lose to graduation will leave a huge void. They were responsible for nearly 40 points per game, just under half of the 83.45 points per game the team averaged this season.
There is no doubt that the 2019-20 Bulldog men played an exciting brand of basketball, and put a quality product on the floor night in and night out. They are definitely trending in the right direction and the future is surely bright.
