Bulldogs rally by Tigers

Jose Morales scored 21 points Monday night to lead McPherson College's victory

By STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

Central Christian College's Tigers still have never defeated McPherson College, but they're getting closer.

The Tigers put a scare into the Bulldogs Monday at the Sport Center, before Mac closed strong for a 70-59 victory in an emotionally-charged contest before a raucous crowd.

It was Mac's third straight win, which coincided with their third straight strong defensive effort. The Bulldogs are now 7-9 heading into a road game Thursday against Kansas Wesleyan, which is tied for last place in the KCAC.

This was by far the most spirited and heated game in the history of the event. The Bulldogs seemingly got caught up in the emotion of the game, as they too often tried to do more than they were capable of, resulting in a 30-29 deficit. They also struggled at the foul line, making just 7 of 14 free throws.

"I'm sure Roger (Mac coach Trimmell) was thrilled to be only down one at the half," Central coach Justin Gillette said. "(Kenny) Romero played only five minutes and (Roy) McDonald had three fouls. We didn't take advantage of that."

Trimmell switched to a point zone defense to start the second half and the move paid dividends. The Tigers started clanging shots from the outside and weren't getting much inside.

"We switched because they were pounding us inside so bad," Trimmell said.

Central, however, still led 38-36 on an outrageous dunk by Jason Lacy, but then the Bulldogs went to work. With McDonald slashing to the basket and Jose Morales hitting some key buckets, the Bulldogs went on an 18-7 run to take a 54-45 lead and the margin eventually grew to 13, as the Tigers finished the second half hitting just 33 percent.

"We didn't run any kind of offense in the second half," Gillette said. "We were just going one-on-one."

A key play for Central came with 15:58 to go. Standout big man Brance Holmes was whistled for his fourth foul and when he argued, he was hit with a technical, which counts as a personal foul as well, so he was excused for the evening. That left Central without a counter to Romero, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half.

Morales led Mac with 21, while Jamaal Norris just missed a double-double with 14 points and 9 rebounds. McDonald scored 10, had 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Brian Hooks did not make a field goal, but was strong on the boards with 10 caroms.

Gary Skeel led Central with 15 points, his best game of the year. Lacy came off the bench for 12 and Brandon Burris added 11.

Both teams suffered from the field, Central hitting just 33 percent while Mac was at 40. The teams combined to go 5 of 33 from 3-point.

"Once we settled down and got into our rotation offense, we were able to get some easier baskets," Trimmell said.

While Mac goes to Salina Thursday, Central, now 3-11, is home Friday to play Bellevue and then gets Peru State Saturday at Pyle Complex.

Mac (70) -- Morales 6 7-9 21; McDonald 4 2-5 10; Perez 0 0-1 0; Turner 1 0-0 2; Norris 6 2-7 14; Hooks 0 6-8 6; Cox 1 0-0 2; K. Romero 6 3-5 15. Totals -- 24 20-35 70. 3-pointers -- Morales 2.

Central (59) -- Skeel 6 3-4 15; T. Romero 2 2-2 7; Burris 3 5-5 11; B. Holmes 2 2-2 6; Lacy 4 3-4 12; Miller 3 1-3 8. Totals -- 20 16-20 59. 3-pointers -- T. Romero 1, Lacy 1, Miller 1.