Bulldogs explode, 85-68

McPherson College's Lee Gustafson flips in two points against Bethany Thursday.

By STEVE SELL, Sentinel Sports Editor

McPherson College's Bulldogs decided they did not want a repeat of Saturday night.

On that occasion, the Bulldogs saw a 15-point lead evaporate into an eventual critical home loss to Ottawa.

Thursday night at the Sport Center, the Bulldogs sprinted to a 12-point lead over intra-county rival Bethany in the first half, only to see the Swedes roar back for a 36-35 halftime lead.

Mac coach Roger Trimmell said it was the players, though, who took charge at halftime.

"They decided they'd been through this before and did not want it to happen again," Trimmell said. "I didn't have to say a whole lot."

The Bulldogs then came out and played one of their best halves of the year, denting the normally solid Bethany defense for a whopping 50 points to key an 85-68 victory.

The Bulldogs remained tied with Southwestern for fourth place in the KCAC with a 10-7 record. The two teams meet Saturday night in Winfield, with the winner assured of being home for the first round of the KCAC Postseason Tournament next week. Both teams are a game up on Bethel, which entertains Bethany on Saturday.

"That was a big win," said Trimmell, whose 18-9 team swept the intra-county series this year. "I thought in the second half our ball movement was much better and we were able to get better shots."

Mac trailed 42-40 when it turned up the jets, going on a 19-2 sizz keyed by several athletic plays. The Swedes could never recover from the haymaker and dropped to 5-12 in the conference, 10-17 overall.

Brian Hooks, after a slow start, caught fire to finish with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Mac, while Kenny Romero scored 19 and added 11 rebounds to give the Bulldogs a pair of double-doubles. McDonald was solid at the point, scoring 16 points and committing just one turnover.

"I thought we did a lot better job tonight of taking care of the basketball," said Trimmell, whose team committed only 11 turnovers after an error-filled game against Ottawa.

The Swedes, who used 13 players, received a fine game from Ronny Mitchell, who had 19 points and 7 rebounds. Ben Zuker scored 12 points. Bethany is assured of being involved in a play-in game next week, for teams in spots Nos. 7-10. The only question is where, as it will be matched against Kansas Wesleyan, which is a game up on the Swedes in the standings.

"This is a team, whether it's a lack of experience or a lack of maturity, that when it hits a lull, it sometimes lacks the mental toughness to deal with that," Bethany coach Clair Oleen said. "It's something we've struggled with all year."

Mac (85) -- Klumpe 1 0-0 2; Rierson 3 2-5 9; Cox 3 0-0 7; McDonald 5 4-4 16; Carter 1 0-0 3; Hooks 7 3-4 19; Soto 0 2-2 2; Romero 8 3-4 19; Gustafson 4 0-0 8. Totals -- 32 14-19 85. 3-pointers -- McDonald 2, Hooks 2, Rierson 1, Cox 1, Carter 1.

Bethany (68) -- Zuker 5 0-0 12; Johnson 3 0-2 6; Mitchell 6 5-9 19; Pera 1 0-0 2; Anderson 1 0-0 2; Herman 1 0-0 2; Bell 4 1-2 9; Weiser 2 0-0 5; G. Whitaker 2 3-4 7; W. Whitaker 1 0-0 2; Linton 1 0-0 2. Totals -- 27 9-17 68. 3-pointers -- Zuker 2, Mitchell 2, Weiser 2.