It was a valiant effort by the Bulldogs

By STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

McPherson College's Bulldogs fought the good fight for a good portion of the night.

But the McKendree College Bearcats, at one time this year the No. 1-ranked team in NAIA Division I -- while the Bulldogs are in Division II -- simply had too much size, strength and talent over a 40-minute period.

McKendree, currently ranked No. 7 in the country, moved its record to 13-2 here Friday with a 94-77 victory over the Bulldogs in the first night of the McPherson Classic at the Sport Center.

The Bulldogs complete Classic play tonight taking on Southwestern Assemblies of God at 7:30 p.m. The Lions were a 20-point loser to Bethany, 74-54, in Friday's first game.

Despite the loss, Mac coach Roger Trimmell came away from the game feeling a lot better about his team, which limped into the holiday break with four straight losses.

"That was the best effort we've given all season," Trimmell said. "I'll take that kind of effort every time out. We played hard. They were simply too big and too strong."

The biggest of the Bearcats, 6-11 and 270-pound center Matt Laur, had his way with the Bulldogs, pouring in 29 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. He plowed over, around and through the Mac defense.

"He's a really good player," Trimmell said. "We couldn't stop him. We were giving up too much height and too much weight."

The Bulldogs actually led by as many as five in the spirited first half and were down only two, 36-34, with just over three minutes left when the Bearcats went on a 10-2 run to take a 46-36 lead into the locker room. McKendree then pounded away inside the second half and since the game was called loosely, it played right into the Bearcats' hands.

The Bulldogs' Brian Hooks had a superb game with 21 points, including a bring-down-the-house dunk that was the highlight play of the year. Kenny Romero had his best game of the season with 17 points and 8 boards, while Jamaal Norris scored 13 and Jose Morales added 10.

McKendree, despite at times going with a lineup that went 6-11, 6-9 and 6-7, while Mac was averaging about 6-3, only had one more rebound, 43-42. The Bulldogs' effort was evident by the fact they had a whopping 21 offensive rebounds.

Mac takes a 4-8 record into tonight's game.

Mac (77) -- Morales 3 2-2 10; McDonald 2 0-0 5; Turner 1 0-0 2; Norris 5 2-4 13; Hooks 7 5-7 21; Cox 3 0-0 6; Romero 7 2-2 17; Gustafson 0 3-4 3. Totals -- 28 14-19 77. 3-pointers-- Morales 2, Hooks 2, McDonald 1, Norris 1, Romero 1.

McKendree (94) -- Storck 2 0-0 5; Echelbarger 3 0-0 9; Koerber 1 0-0 2; Fischer 4 0-0 11; Schumacher 1 0-0 3; Byrne 3 1-1 8; Shaw 8 3-7 19; Laur 14 1-2 29; Krumsieg 4 0-0 8. Totals -- 40 5-10 94. 3-pointers -- Echelbarger 3, Fischer 3, Storck 1, Schumacher 1, Byrne 1.