Wichita, Kansas – In a battle of outright second place in the KCAC standings, the Bulldogs made the quick trip south to take on the Falcons of Friends University. McPherson had their winning streak of nine games snapped a week prior to this matchup but managed to pick up a quick road victory over York University on Wednesday before this big-time matchup.
The Basics
Location: Garvey Center
Records: MC 19-7 (15-5 KCAC), FU 21-5 (16-4 KCAC)
Scores: MC 81, FU 89
How it Happened
McPherson had played their best twenty minutes of this contest in the first half where they held majority of the lead. Their largest lead of the night was found at the 3:50 mark following a
JD Talley triple for a 45-38 advantage. Friends had worked their way back into the driver's seat late in the half and took the advantage into the locker room after Collin Maclin's close-range shot for a tight 49-47 lead.
The visitors had made 45% of their shots in the half (17-38) and knocked home six triples, but Friends shot well from the floor as they converted 20-36.
In the second half, McPherson struggled to find their rhythm from beyond the arc; they would make just 1-10 while the Falcons had made 4-11. With how close the game had been in the first half, it felt like a mountain to climb for the Bulldogs when Friends had gone up 57-47 to start the half.
McPherson managed to get the game down to one possession at 68-65 after
Charles Snyder's bucket with 10:24 left in the game, but two consecutive three-pointers from the Falcons built the lead back up to multiple scores.
The Falcons would go on to win this one 89-81 over the Bulldogs at home.
Korbin Gunn led the attack for McPherson with 20 points followed by
KJ Marshall who had 12 on the night.
Up Next
All that's left for the Bulldogs before the KCAC Tournament is a pair of home games to close out the regular season. They'll take on the Sterling College Warriors this Wednesday on February 18
th at 8:00 PM in the Holman Fieldhouse.
