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| 07-08 Season
Schedule | Roster | Stats | Gallery | Signings | All-KCAC Honors | Weekly
KCAC Honors
Men’s Basketball Review
Three overtime losses in the final half of the season, left McPherson College with a final record of 16-13. While disappointing to be so close to what could have been a 19 or 20 win season, in the end it was a testimony to the grit of an undersized pack of Bulldogs and coach Roger Trimmell.
“We gave ourselves a chance,” was the lament of head coach Roger Trimmell several times during the 26th and final season at the helm of the Bulldog program. “That’s all you can ask.”
Picked for a second division finish in the pre-season polls, the undersized Bulldogs were still in every game against bigger, more physical teams, largely due to a baffling mix of their match-up zone and man-to-man defenses, and the three-point shot.
“When we hit from the outside, we were a pretty good team.”
After opening the season 4-4, the Bulldogs put together a five-game win streak surrounding the Christmas/New Year’s holidays, and entered mid-January standing 3-1 in the conference and 9-4 overall. That run caught the eye of the rest of the KCAC and from there on, no one overlooked the Dogs.
While the Bulldogs dropped four of their next five games, the win was a 25-point decision over KCAC champion-to-be Ottawa, and the losses included a two-point overtime loss to Southwestern and a three-point decision to Kansas Wesleyan, teams that would later tie with Friends for the runner-up spot in the final KCAC standings.
The Bulldogs then gathered themselves for a three-game win streak which included wins over Sterling, Tabor, and Bethany. The win at Tabor was the Bulldogs’ first in Hillsboro since 2001 and completed the Bulldogs’ their first regular season sweep of the Bluejays since the 1984-85 season.
Down the final stretch, McPherson would drop four of six games, including two more in overtime, but a 63-57 regular season finale win left the Bulldogs with a 15-12 overall record, 9-9 in KCAC play and tied for sixth, but avoiding the dreaded post-season play-in round.
Prior to the Bulldogs’ KCAC tournament opener, Trimmell informed his team that he was stepping down as the head coach at the conclusion of the season.
If the Bulldogs needed any extra motivation, that must have been enough, as they came from behind to upset second-place Kansas Wesleyan, 70-55, in the final gym to be played in KWU’s Muir Gym.
The tournament semifinals sent McPherson to Wichita, where the Bulldogs met a Friends Falcon squad they had split a pair of 11-point decisions with during the regular season. And, what a barn burner this one was.
McPherson battled from behind to tie the game with just under four seconds left in the game, only to see the Falcons go the length of the court and score as the buzzer sounded, ending the Bulldogs’ dream of a post-season run and bringing an end the Bulldogs 16-13 season and Trimmell’s 26-year career at the McPherson helm.
Seniors Shawn Young and Mitch Arnett received post-season KCAC honors. Young was named to the All-KCAC first team and All-Defensive team. Arnett received honorable mention recognition.
Other seniors wrapping up their careers were Nick Augustine, Tim Bremerman, Cody Dickerson, Dan Erb, Zach Kimble Nathan Soto, and Tyler Stewart.
During his 26 seasons as the “Father of Dogball”, Trimmell’s teams compiled an overall record of 371-346.
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