Following a very low-scoring first half by both McPherson College and Kansas Wesleyan University, the second heated up. After a back-and-forth battle, the Coyotes took the game 67-64.
Sitting in their patented zone defense, Kansas Wesleyan dared the Bulldogs to shoot from the outside. Mac hit a couple threes early but then went cold, shooting in just 3-of-15 in the final 10 minutes of the half. Fortunately McPherson’s defense was up to the challenge of keeping the Coyotes to just 33.3% shooting. MC scored 24 points in the opening period and headed into the locker room down 28-24. McPherson knocked down 8-of-29 from the floor with 2-of-12 from distance; they netted 6-of-8 foul shots. KWU made just 10-of-30 field goals with a mere 1-of-10 three-point buckets falling; the team shot in 7-of-9 free throws.
Both teams picked up the scoring in the second half. The Bulldogs used a run midway through the period to take the lead and got ahead by as many as 11 with seven minutes left in the game. KWU started chipping away in the final minutes and with less than two on the clock, took the lead 64-62. McPherson couldn’t get the shots to fall in the final 60 seconds and the Coyotes hit just enough free throws to hold on for the 67-64 win. Mac counted 16-of-36 field goals in the second period with 2-of-12 going in from deep; just 6-of-10 free throws fell through. Kansas Wesleyan improved their shooting percentage as well with 15-of-35 attempts finding the bottom of the net; they hit 5-of-11 three balls and 4-of-9 foul shots.
MC went 24-of-65 for the game, 39.9%, and dropped in just 4-of-24 from behind the arc; the team converted 12-of-18 free throws. The Bulldogs pulled down 39 rebounds and allowed 47 to KWU. McPherson had 11 turnovers, eight assists, five steals, and five blocks in the loss.
The ‘Dogs had a couple 20-point scorers in Dee Roberts, 26, and Chris Crook, 22. Roberts made 11-of-26 from the floor with 1-of-10 three-point buckets; he was 3-of-4 from the foul line and also grabbed three rebounds. Crook netted 7-of-17 field goals including 3-of-9 from distance while making 5-of-6 from the stripe; the junior pulled down five boards. Ramon Martinez was the next on the scoring list with his six points on 3-of-8 field goals.
McPherson will host Friends University on Saturday, December 5 with JV starting at 3:00 p.m. (CT) and varsity at 7:00.
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McPherson College is a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference member school and a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
