North Newton Kan. – The McPherson College men's basketball team fell on the road to the Bethel College Threshers on Monday night 78-62.
For the Bulldogs, they played well defensively all night, but struggled on the offensive end of the floor. Bethel hit five three pointers in the first half while the Bulldogs were just 2 for 9 from behind the arc in the opening half. In total, the Threshers knocked down 17 shots in the first half to just 13 for the Bulldogs leading to a 14 point lead for the home team at the break, 44-30.
In the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Bulldogs were much more efficient on offense. They continued to play solid defense and began chipping away at the Thresher lead. At the 12:31 mark in the 2nd half, the Bulldogs were within eight of the Threshers, but that was as close as they would get. Bethel proceeded to go on a 15-5 run over the next seven minutes, and just like that the lead was back up to 15 points. From there the Threshers continued to extend their lead over the Bulldogs and as the clock hit zeros it had ballooned out to 26.
Key Statistic
Three point shooting was the difference in the game tonight. The Threshers knocked down nine from deep, while the Bulldogs managed to make only four.
By the Numbers
MC shot 35% from the floor for the game, and 20% from deep.
They went 10 of 13 from the free throw line (77%).
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by 13 from Ja'Quan Chestnut.
The Bulldogs lost the turnover battle 10-8, and were out-rebounded by the Threshers 47-42.
Bulldog Leaders
Points: Ja'Quan Chestnut (13)
Rebounds: Ja'Quan Chestnut, Christian Aguillard (8)
Assists: Jason Okoro (5)
Steals: Jason Okoro, Luis Rodriguez, Jr. (1)
Blocks: Four Bulldogs (1)
Next Up
With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 14-9 overall, and 9-8 in the KCAC. They have a huge rematch on Thursday when they host the Friends University Falcons at 8:00 pm. In their game in Wichita back in December, the Falcons defeated the Bulldogs by 36, 97-61, their largest margin of defeat this season.
