– McPherson College junior forward Thomas Butler has been named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending Sunday, January 29, 2017, the conference office announced Monday.
Butler averaged 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game as the Bulldogs went 2-0 last week with wins over Bethel (77-64) and Sterling (80-61). Against Bethel, he scored just eight points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field but pulled down seven boards and had two assists and two steals. In Saturday’s win over Sterling, Butler scored a season-high 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field with a 3-pointer and had another seven rebounds. He scored 11 points as part of a 27-7 McPherson run over a seven-minute span midway through the second half as the Bulldogs pulled away after leading by just three at the break. McPherson has won four of its last five to escape the KCAC cellar, with the lone loss coming by one point at Oklahoma Wesleyan on Jan. 21.
Grant Greenburg of the University of Saint Mary was named the KCAC Offensive Player of the Week after averaging 26.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals as the Spires split a pair of games last week. Both winners were determined by a vote of conference sports information directors.
McPherson has a tough pair of games in the upcoming week. First is a visit from No. 21 Tabor College on Thursday, Feb. 2. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. That game is followed by a trip to Wichita to face Friends University at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs came out on the losing end of the earlier meetings with both schools, falling at Tabor, 82-75, on Dec. 8 and at home against Friends, 92-82, on Dec. 10. Live video and stats for both games can be found at macbulldogs.com/gamecast. Matt Cole and Steve Sell will have the radio call for both contests, which can be found on 96.7 FM KBBE in the McPherson area or online at midkansasradio.com.
