North Newton, Kan. – The McPherson College men's basketball team played one of their best games of the season in the quarterfinals of the KCAC Tournament on Thursday evening, but ultimately came up a bucket short against the Bethel College Threshers, falling 68-65.
The last two times the Bulldogs danced with the Threshers on their turf, the games quickly got out of hand, leading to big leads for the Threshers early in the game. On Thursday however, the Bulldogs matched the Threshers nearly shot for shot. The largest lead for either team in the first half was four points, and as they headed into the locker room at halftime the Threshers led 30-28.
The trend continued in the second half with neither team able to pull away from the other. The Bulldogs held a brief two point lead early in the second half, but the Threshers quickly retook the lead and then led the rest of the way. Bethel held a seven point lead 68-61 with 2:10 remaining and then didn't score another point. It turned out that they didn't need to score any more. The Bulldogs scored the final four points, and had the ball trailing by three with 27 seconds on the clock.
Jason Okoro missed a game tying three pointer, but Josh Rivers was able to secure the offensive rebound with 12 ticks left. After two timeouts, one by each team, the Threshers had fouls to give and chose to use them each time the Bulldogs inbounded the ball. The tactic worked, leaving very little time for the Bulldogs to get off another shot. They got one final look, but it was an off balance shot by Ja'Quan Chestnut, and it came up short.
Key Statistic
The Bulldogs knew to have a chance, they needed to slow the game down and keep the score in the 60s. They executed that plan to perfection, and gave themselves a shot at end.
By the Numbers
The Bulldogs shot well, making 28 of 63 of their attempts (44%)
From beyond the arc they hit on 7 of 22 tries (32%)
From the free throw line they were 66%, making 2 of 3 attempts.
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Jason Okoro with 25, and four Bulldogs played over 36 minutes.
The Bulldogs lost the turnover battle 9-6 and were out-rebounded by the Threshers 36-35.
Bulldog Leaders
Points: Jason Okoro (25)
Rebounds: Christian Aguillard, Ja'Quan Chestnut, Owen Braxmeyer (7)
Assists: Jason Okoro (4)
Steals: Jason Okoro, Josh Rivers (1)
Blocks: Josh Rivers (1)
Coach's Quote
"What a game and what an atmosphere. I'm extremely proud of the effort our guys showed tonight. We executed our game plan and left it all out on the floor. Obviously I'm disappointed we lost but I'm proud of how we competed. I'm so grateful to the seniors we had this year and wish we could have gotten them another game. Bulldog Nation should be proud of this group." - Coach Eskildsen
Wrap Up
The Bulldogs finish the season at 18-14 overall their third winning season in a row.
