Leavenworth, Kan – It would take two overtimes to decide a winner between the Bulldogs and Spires of Saint Mary on Saturday night. McPherson had won nine straight matchups coming into the contest, with their closest margin of victory set at four points in their overtime win over York in early January.
The Basics
Location: Ryan Sports Center
Records: MC 18-6 (14-4 KCAC), USM 17-8 (11-8 KCAC)
Score: MC 85, USM 90
How it Happened
Despite holding onto the lead for majority of the first half, the Bulldogs did not shoot nearly as well as they had in their previous matchup with Bethany College where they shot 50% from the field. McPherson’s highest scorer of the first half was Korbin Gunn with just nine points. An interesting statistic from the half was the fact that the Bulldogs had out-rebounded the Spires on both ends of the floor, but Saint Mary held the 35-33 lead going into the halftime break. The difference of scoring came from the charity stripe where Saint Mary was 11-13 while the Bulldogs were 6-8.
McPherson had rallied back in the second half to take a multiple-possession lead; JD Talley’s fast-break dunk at the 9:20 mark of the second half gave the visitors a 56-47 advantage. The Spires had remained poised throughout their time of playing from behind and had tied the game at 64-64 following a perfect trip to the line from Jordan Brown. With 32 seconds on the clock, JD Talley was able to take the ball the other way on a great pass from Marshall and take the lead with a quick layup. With five seconds on the clock, the Spires tied the game on Kaeden Bonner’s layup, and we’d head to overtime with the game locked at 66-66.
McPherson had recently won their last overtime game against Bethel College, and with the start they had it looked like they might handle this one with ease as they jumped out to a quick four-point lead. With a minute left in the period, Gunn gave McPherson a 76-71 lead after a long possession extended with two offensive rebounds. Following a mid-range shot form Cam Edwards to cut the lead to three points, Jordan Brown made a huge game-tying triple with seconds on the clock. Talley’s game-winning attempt at the buzzer wouldn’t fall and the game would head to a second overtime.
In the second overtime, the Spires had simply made more shots than the Bulldogs. Each team had seven shots from the field with two from beyond the arc; while the Bulldogs made two of their attempts from the floor and no triples, the Spires made four shots and added a triple. Saint Mary would take the double overtime victory 90-85.
Up Next
McPherson College will be back on the road on Wednesday as they take on the York University Panthers in the Freeman Center on February 11th at 8:00 PM.
