Men's Basketball | 11/11/2013 2:09:00 PM
Game Notes
Live Audio
McPherson, Kan. – Coming off a 1-1 trip in Texas, the MC men's basketball team is set to travel to Emporia, Kansas to play an exhibition contest with the Emporia State Hornets, a NCAA Division II school. Start time for the competition is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (CT) on November 12
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It was almost a perfect trip to Texas for the Bulldogs as they started the weekend off with a 72-59 victory over Paul Quinn College on Friday. The McPherson College Alumni Department tried to make Saturday's game feel like a home contest as they held a pep-rally prior to the game, inviting alumni from the surrounding area to attend. The excitement in the gym propelled McPherson to a 71-71 tie after regulation with the NAIA D-I's No. 5 Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions; the home court advantage gave SAGU the slight edge in overtime as they trumped MC 92-82 giving the 'Dogs their first loss of the season.
In the contest with the Tigers of PQC, McPherson used an outstanding shooting percentage to help push them to victory; Mac shot 52.6% in the opening period and then went 15-of-30 in the final 20. A 15-of-18 showing from the charity stripe in the second half gave the Bulldogs a huge edge as Paul Quinn only attempted one free throw. 21 turnovers could have potentially been a big issue for MC but their high field goal percentage made up for some poor decisions.
TJ Grant led all scorers with his 22 points scored as he made 6-of-11 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. Brian (BJ) Johnson and Samson Shivers each totaled 14 for second place on the team; Johnson also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Joey Powers recorded his fourth double-digit scoring game of the year with 11 and snatched seven boards.
In the overtime game against SAGU, the 'Dogs saw a slight drop in shooting percentage but still made an impressive 39.7 from the floor on 29-of-73 shooting; the second half boasted a 46.4, 13-of-28 showing. Mac had 9-of-30 fall from deep and made 68.2% of their foul attempts in the contest. Southwestern Assemblies of God made it to the stripe 48 times and made an unreal 81.3%, including 14-of-14 in the overtime period. MC led the way in rebounds with 48 but also in turnovers with 17.
Shivers posted a team leading 24 points on 8-of-14 from the field, with four three pointers, and 4-of-4 from the line. Fellow Texas native Erik DeRoo had his coming out party with a season-high 21 points as he hit 6-of-11 including 4-of-7 from deep, and was perfect with all five of his shots from the charity stripe. Powers mad 6-of-12 field goals for 13 points and was followed by B. Johnson's 11. Devirous Johnson hauled in a game-high 17 rebounds to go along with his seven points.
After their exhibition bout with the ESU Hornets, McPherson travels to Muskogee, Oklahoma where they'll play Bacone College on November 16th at 4:00 p.m. The team's next home game is on November 19th against cross-town rival Central Christian College.
Scouting Emporia State
The NCAA Division-II Hornets have played four games thus far with three being exhibitions against Division I opponents Oklahoma State University, University of Missouri-Kansas City and Wichita State University; ESU went 1-2 in that span, taking out UMKC 81-76. The fourth and most recent contest came against Rockhurst University on Sunday; the Hornets defeated RU 74-62 on the road. The game against Mac is their first home contest of the season.
Emporia State shot the ball very well against the Hawks, hitting 28-of-56 from the floor; they struggled from deep however, making one three ball in each half and ending the game at 2-of-10. From the free throw line, ESU made 16-of-23 for a 69.6 percentage. The Hornet D held Rockhurst to 62 points on 20-of-66 from the floor and 15-of-19 from the stripe. Using their size advantage, Emporia State outrebounded RU 43-34 but did give up 17 offensive boards.
Kaleb Wright scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-14 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the foul line. Paul Bunch, a 6-11 forward, scored 18 as he made 9-of-18; he also had 11 rebounds to lead the team. Terrence Moore was the final Hornet in double figures, scoring 11 on 5-of-10 from the floor and 1-of-3 from the stripe.
ESU will play host to two more KCAC schools following their game with Mac; they play Sterling College on November 14th and Bethel College on the 18th.
