credit: McPherson College
Baldwin City, Kan. – McPherson College men’s basketball started 2015 off with a win as they took down Baker University 75-64 on the road Saturday. The victory snapped a five-game losing streak and bumps the ‘Dogs to 5-11 on the year.
“Certainly I’m happy for our players,” said Coach Swartzendruber. “Going through a losing streak is tough. But this group has continued to work hard. They have positive attitudes and believe they can be a good team.”
Baker started the game holding a slim lead which they maintained for the first half of the period. After trailing by five, McPherson closed out the final nine minutes on a 19-8 which included nine straight points; the Bulldogs took a 30-23 advantage into the break. MC made 11-of-28 in the first half and went 3-of-8 from deep while the Wildcats scored on 9-of-22 with 2-of-7 dropping from behind the arc.
Mac led throughout the second half, but not by much; the ‘Dogs stayed ahead of BU by a just handful and never let the Wildcats get ahead. It wasn’t until there were less than seven minutes left that the score margin reached double figures; McPherson hit on 12-of-12 from the free throw line in the final seven minutes to hold on for the 75-64 triumph. The Bulldogs knocked down 12-of-22 from the floor with 5-of-7 threes going in; they also converted on 16-of-20 foul shots. Baker scored on 14-of-29 field goals but made a mere 1-of-10 from distance; the team went 12-of-14 from the stripe.
McPherson ended the game making 23-of-50 from the field, 46%, and bucketed 8-of-15 from range, 53.3 percent; 21-of-28 free throws were netted by the Bulldogs. The team grabbed 32 rebounds and also recorded 14 turnovers, 12 assists, and seven steals. 25 points came from bench players for MC.
DeAndre Henson didn’t start the game but ended the night with a team-high 18 points; he was 5-of-8 including four three balls. The guard/forward combo was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and also led the team rebounds with eight. Both TJ Grant and Darius Hill tabbed 15 points for Mac. Grant went 3-of-6 from the floor and made all eight of his free throws; Hill connected on 5-of-16 field goals and 5-of-5 foul shots. Chris Crook, who also had a team-high four steals, was the final Bulldog to hit double-digits with his 12; he hit on 4-of-7 from the field and also 3-of-4 from the stripe.
Mac travels to Sterling College for their first game of the 2015 KCAC season; the Bulldogs will face the Warriors on January 8th at 8:00 p.m. (CT) with junior varsity set to compete at 4:00.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
