Mac shocks Swedes with huge rally

by STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

With just under eight minutes to go Saturday in his team's crucial game with intra-county rival Bethany College, McPherson College coach Roger Trimmell was just hoping his team could keep its deficit from reaching embarrassming propotions.

The Bulldogs were down 69-52 and on the verge of being run out of the Sport Center by the 20th-ranked Swedes.

But a not-so-funny thing happened to Bethany on its way to the laugher -- the Bulldogs morphed into a raging inferno.

In perhaps the most incredible comeback in Trimmell's 21 years at Mac, it used a 27-7 run in the final 7:35 to hand the Swedes an ego-sapping 79-76 loss, dropping the one-time KCAC sole leader two games back of Bethel and on the verge of being out of the title race.

And the heroes were guys named Cox, Soto and Turner, names not normally associated with Bulldog headlines.

"Our bench made the difference," said Trimmell, whose team is now 5-5 in the KCAC and 10-10 overall. "Tim Cox, Art Soto and Jamar Turner were just huge for us."

It was Turner's trey that got Mac started on its amazing comeback. Cox then had a stretch where he took over and Soto contributed some clutch play. The three subs combined to make five treys in the game.

The Bulldogs kept melting the lead away and finally with 3:11 to go, Roy McDonald's old-fashioned 3-point play gave Mac a 73-71 lead, one it would never give up.

Bethany had a chance to tie the game with the final possession. As it worked for the shot, Bethany coach Clair Oleen called time with 3.9 seconds left and the Swedes then designed a play to free Charlie Mercado, whose open 3-point look wouldn't fall, setting off pandemonium in the Sport Center and sending the Swedes to their third straight conference loss.

"This was a huge win for us, especially after the heart-breaking loss on Thursday," said Trimmell, whose team missed a last-second shot against Bethel. "To come back against a team with so many seniors and experience says a lot."

The Swedes led 40-36 at the half and then unleashed a 23-9 rip to open the second half, looking like a team worthy of its national ranking. But Mac somehow found the resolve to totally turn the game in its favor.

The Bulldogs received 17 points from Jamaal Norris, 14 from Brian Hooks, 13 from Cox, 12 from the constantly double-teammed Kenny Romero and 11 from McDonald. A key for Mac was that it hit 8 of 15 treys, an area it has struggled in all year.

Dustin Hildebrand led Bethany with 19 points, while Mercado scored 13, and Marques Askins and Nathan Hiebert added 12.

Mac, which has won six of its last seven, goes to Tabor Thursday, while Bethany's conference chances could be made or broken Thursday when it plays at Bethel.

Mac (79) -- Morales 3 0-0 6; McDonald 5 1-1 11; Soto 1 0-0 3; Turner 1 0-0 3; Norris 6 4-5 17; Hooks 4 4-4 14; Cox 4 2-2 13; Romero 5 2-3 12. Totals -- 29 13-15 79. 3-pointers -- Cox 3, Hooks 2, Turner 1, Soto 1, Norris 1.

Bethany (76) -- Farha 1 1-1 3; Askins 4 2-5 12; Johnson 2 0-0 4; Mercado 5 2-2 13; Hildebrand 6 4-4 19; Hiltgen 1 2-2 4; Whitaker 1 0-0 2; Hiebert 5 2-2 12; Hines 3 1-3 7. Totals -- 28 14-19 76. 3-pointers -- Hildebrand 3, Askins 2, Mercado 1.