Men's Basketball | 2/26/2025 1:18:00 PM
[7] McPherson College (12-16, 10-12) at [2] Friends University (22-6, 18-4)
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 | 7:00 PM | Garvey Center | Wichita, Kan.
WATCH | LISTEN | TICKETS | STATS
The McPherson College Bulldogs open the KCAC Postseason Tournament tonight (Feb. 26) with a date with the second-seeded Friends University Falcons at the Garvey Center in Wichita, Kan.
A LOOK AT THE 'DOGS
McPherson comes in to the game with a 12-16 record, and finished 10-12 in the KCAC. MC has been strong at Holman Fieldhouse this season, winning nine of their 13 contests, but have been a different team when traveling. The Bulldogs are 3-12 when playing away from home, and 3-11 in true road games.
The Bulldogs are led by redshirt junior point guard Curtis Rose, who paces the team with 14.6 points per game and 3.4 assists per game, and is fourth on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.3 per contest. Collin Storr is second on the team, averaging 12.3 points per game, and is the Bulldogs leading rebounder with 7.1 per game. Tarrance Austin is the final double-digit scorer with 10.2 points per game.
MC is the third highest scoring team in the KCAC, averaging 81.8 points per game, despite shooting 42.4 percent, which is the second lowest in the league. Offensive rebounding has been a key for the Bulldogs this season, averaging 13.0 offensive boards per game which is the second most in the conference. In their 12 wins this season, the Bulldogs average 9.4 more rebounds than their opponents, compared to a –0.8 rebounding margin in their losses.
In two games against the Falcons this season, the Bulldogs averaged 8.5 turnovers and scored 32.0 points per game in the paint. Storr was the Bulldogs leading scorer in the first matchup, tallying 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. In game two, Rose came up clutch, scoring 22 points, recording a season-high seven assists and a career-best 12 rebounds. Storr added 17 points in the loss.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Led by KCAC Co-Player of the Year KJ Spiller, the Falcons enter the contest with 22-6 record and an 18-4 mark in KCAC play. The Falcons have won each of their last four games, including a 79-76 win over the Bulldogs inside Holman Fieldhouse back on Feb. 15.
Spiller paces the Falcons with 17.0 points per game and is also tops on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. Three other Falcons average double-digit points per game with Cahlese Lee scoring 12.9, Randy Woolf Jr. averaging 11.1, and Ring Deng scoring 10.1.
The Falcons boast the top offense in the KCAC, averaging 84.4 points per game, thanks to the 11th best field goal percentage (50.3) in the NAIA. Friends also has one of the league's best defenses, holding their opponents to just 72.6 points per game.
SERIES VS. FRIENDS
This is the 191st all-time meeting between McPherson College and Friends University in men's basketball. The Falcons hold a narrow 98-92 advantage in the overall series. During head coach TJ Eskildsen's tenure, the Bulldogs are 6-5 against Friends, but 2-4 at the Garvey Center.
The teams have met four times in the KCAC tournament, and are an even 2-2 in those games. The last postseason matchup between the squads came in 2013 when the eighth-seeded Bulldogs knocked off fourth-seeded Friends 81-80 in the semifinal round. The Bulldogs would go on to win the tournament title, defeating Sterling 87-80.
McPherson and Friends have played in seven recorded overtime games in the series, with the Bulldogs holding a 4-3 advantage. The last time the matchup went into extra periods was in 2020 when the Bulldogs defeated the Falcons 114-106. One of the three longest games in MC history came against the Falcons, winning 115-114 in triple overtime in 1955-56.
LAST MEETING
The teams squared off less than two weeks ago inside Holman Fieldhouse with the Falcons coming away with a narrow 79-76 win.
Curtis recorded the first double-double of his career, scoring 22 points with a career-best 12 rebounds, including four on the offensive end. Rose also tied his career high with seven assists. Collin Storr was efficient on the offensive end, going 8-for-11 from the field to the tune of 17 points, while Antonio Watson drilled four of his 11 three-point attempts to finish with 12 points. The Bulldogs shot just 12-for-18 at the charity stripe, compared to 13-for-16 from the line for the Falcons.
Friends was led in the scoring column by KJ Spiller and Cahlese Lee, each tallying 20 points, while Spiller paced the team with seven rebounds and four assists. Ring Deng added 15 points, and Randy Woolf finished with 12 points.
QUOTING ESKILDSEN
"We are excited for the KCAC tournament to begin Wednesday. You play all season for the opportunity to compete in postseason games, and I am excited that our guys are going to get that chance to play in a tournament environment. Friends is a really talented and well coached team. Phil McClintock has done an unbelievable job there in his second season. It should be a great atmosphere and I'm excited to see how our guys respond."
KCAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This is the 26th time in their recorded history that the Bulldogs have made the KCAC Tournament and hold an even 23-23 record. MC has won two KCAC Tournament titles (2012 and 2013) and have made the championship game a total of five times. In the Eskildsen Era, the Bulldogs are 2-4 in the KCAC Tournament, advancing to the semifinal round in 2020.
ALL-KCAC RECOGNITION
McPherson College placed a pair of Bulldogs on the All-KCAC teams with Curtis Rose picking up third team honors following his best season in an MC uniform. Collin Storr was also selected as an All-KCAC honorable mention.
1K MAGIC
A three-year contributor, Curtis Rose needs 31 points to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his career, which would make him 24th player in MC history to reach the milestone. Rose has had a career-best season that has seen him score 408 points, grab 147 rebounds, record 96 assists, and come away with 46 steals, all of which are career-highs. He has 227 career assists which ranks him seventh in Bulldog history.
TICKETING INFORMATION
Fans can purchase tickets using the KCAC website. The link can be found HERE. NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE GATE. Student get in FREE with a valid student ID. Ticket prices are as follows: Adult $12, Child $3, Senior $6, Faculty/Staff $6.
A BULLDOG WIN WOULD...
... make them 13-16 on the season
... snap a three-game losing skid
... advance them to the KCAC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2020
... snap a five-game road losing streak
... be better than a Bulldog loss
AROUND THE KCAC
[8] Evangel at [1] Oklahoma Wesleyan
[5] Ottawa at [4] Bethel
[6] Southwestern at [3] Saint Mary
[7] McPherson at [2] Friends
COACHES CORNER
T.J. Eskildsen enters his sixth season as the head coach of the Bulldog men's basketball coach in 2024-25.
In his time as the head coach, Eskildsen has guided the Bulldogs to the KCAC Tournament in all but one season, including a KCAC Semi-final appearance in his first season at the helm.
Eskildsen led the Bulldogs back to the KCAC postseason in 2023-24. The Bulldogs won 12 of their first 14 games of the season, including a win over sixth-ranked Southwestern, snapping a five-game losing streak against the Moundbuilders.
In his inaugural season in 2019-20, the Bulldogs finished 21-11 overall and 15-9 in KCAC play. It was the program's most wins since the 2011-12 season, and their 4th place finish in the KCAC standings was their highest mark since they won the conference that same year.
During his tenure, Eskildsen has coached 12 All-KCAC selections, including three second teamers, and the 2023-24 KCAC Newcomer of the Year in Collin Storr.
Prior to taking over the reins of the program, Coach Eskildsen spent nine seasons with the Bulldogs as an assistant coach under Tim Swartzendruber. During that time, the Bulldogs qualified for the NAIA Division II National Tournament four times (2010-2013), reaching the national semifinals in 2012. The Bulldogs also won a regular season conference championship (2011-12) and won two KCAC tournament championships (2012, 2013), with Coach Eskildsen on the bench.
A native of Davenport, Iowa, Eskildsen played two seasons from 1998-2000 at Holyoke Catholic High School (Mass.) before finishing his prep career at Assumption High School in Davenport, Iowa.
Eskildsen played one season of collegiate basketball at the NCAA Division III Dominican University in River Forest, Ill. Following his brief stint at DU, he transferred to Saint Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, before finishing his bachelor of arts in sports management from Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in 2007. While at Iowa Wesleyan, Eskildsen served as a student assistant coach for the Tigers' 2006 conference championship team that went on to play in the NAIA Division II national tournament.
He continued his education and coaching career at William Woods University, serving as the men's basketball assistant coach. Eskildsen was instrumental in recruiting the Owls American Midwest Conference 2009-10 Freshman of the Year. He graduated in May of 2009 with a master of education in Athletics/Activities Administration.
Coach Eskildsen is married to wife Erin, who is the Director of the McPherson County Humane Society. They currently reside in McPherson, Kan.
