Salina, Kan – It'd be a KCAC rematch on Wednesday as the Bulldogs headed up north to take on the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes. The last time these two teams went toe-to-toe, the Coyotes escaped the Holman Fieldhouse with a tight 75-73 victory over the Bulldogs. Coming into this contest, Kansas Wesleyan had dropped three straight to KCAC opponents while the Bulldogs featured back-to-back conference victories in their last two contests.
The Basics
Location: Mabee Arena
Score: MC 84, KWU 72
Records: MC 12-5 (8-3 KCAC), KWU 6-10 (4-7 KCAC)
How it Happened
Through the opening there minutes of play, the Coyotes held onto the lead following a triple from Braylin Goins and a driving layup from Gabriel Phillips, but Joe Gonzales tied the game up at the 16:27 mark with a corner three off the assist of
Tarrance Austin. Heading into the media timeout it looked like the Coyotes would take a 7-5 lead into the break, but Austin converted on a hard-earned hook shot to keep the game level at 7-7. Up to this point, both teams had only gotten a third of their shots to fall; Kansas Wesleyan had missed the only free throw attempts of the game, which kept the stats fairly even.
Following the break, Kanas Wesleyan had pulled away with a 7-0 run that was quickly matched and exceeded;
Dash Johnson nailed a deep three-pointer,
Korbin Gunn converted on an and-one attempt and
Labron Wilson capped the run off with an easy layup off the assist of Gunn. The efficiency had picked up from both sides, but the Bulldogs had found their rhythm. They would score on four consecutive possessions and Johnson's triple at the 8:40 mark forced a timeout from the Coyotes.
During Kansas Wesleyan's rally to minimize the margin, Gunn would go down with injury dribbling through defenders, which would take out the team's leading scorer for the remainder of the half. With McPherson's offense slowing down, the Coyotes managed to make it a three-point game just before the end of the half with the Bulldogs holding onto a 35-32 lead.
The Bulldogs started off the second half with an 8-0 run over the Coyotes to extend their lead after the break. After a dry spell from each side, Kansas Wesleyan made their way back into the game to get the lead back to within single digits. Their efficiency was once again matched and McPherson maintained their large lead on the road. With 13:02 left in the half, the Bulldogs grew their rate from the floor to 46% and began to find shots from inside the paint on a sizable Kansas Wesleyan lineup. On the other end, the Coyotes kept themselves in the game with offensive boards and second chance points.
With just over a minute to go, the Coyotes made it a six-point ball game after a corner three from Brandon Avedon with the score at 75-69. After a Kansas Wesleyan timeout, the Bulldogs found three consecutive breakaway buckets and in the blink of an eye, the score was 81-69. DJ Talley's dunk to finish the frenzy electrified head coach TJ Eskildsen. Joe Gonzales' three-pointer was the icing on top as the Bulldogs took the 84-72 victory over the Coyotes.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will be back on the road in Kansas City as they travel to Avila University on January 17
th at 3:00 PM.
