McPHERSON, Kan. – On Wednesday night, the No. 20-ranked Southwestern College men's basketball team returned to Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) play after a one-week hiatus. The Moundbuilder offense did not look rusty whatsoever, as they mounted an offensive performance in which they eclipsed the century mark in points scored. The 102-90 victory over the Bulldogs of McPherson College marks the squad's 20^th win of the campaign, making it their eighth 20-win season out of their last nine as a program.

"I am very proud of the consistency of our program over the past 10 years," said head coach Matt O'Brien. "There have been lots of coaches and players who have worked hard through the years to make our program successful."

Unexpectedly, the McPherson offense could do no wrong in the first 10 minutes of the battle, as they stormed out to a 28-16 lead with 9:36 to play in the opening half. Then, a 15-5 run by the Builders made for a much more manageable 33-31 deficit with 6:44 to go until the break. After allowing the next four points to the Bulldogs, SC finished the period by momentarily taking a three-point lead at 45-42 with 1:35 to go. McPherson would end the period on a 6-2 stretch to lead 48-47 at halftime. The big story in the first half was the torrid shooting pace that each side had put forth. Southwestern's 18-of-33 (54.5%) clip bested the 19-of-39 (48.7%) output by the Bulldogs, but a 10-2 turnover margin that favored McPherson limited SC to six fewer shot attempts in the first 20 minutes.

Cleaner offensive operation would be of paramount importance for the Builders if they wanted to earn the win, and they hardly gave away any possessions in the second half. They turned the orange over just four times in the second, while hitting at an unreal 19-of-31 (61.3%) clip. The Bulldogs again shot the ball well at 15-of-29 (51.7%), but the extra opportunities were going to SC in the latter stages, as the Builders hauled in five offensive rebounds and held a 15-7 backboard advantage in the second half, overall. The two teams were rather even until about the 11-minute mark, when the Moundbuilders produced a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to jump out to an 81-70 lead with 7:57 to play. From that point forward, the lead was never fewer than seven points and ended up in a 12-point, 102-90 victory.

Southwestern had five players with more than 10 points in the win, and two of those five were from off the bench. Cevin Clark led the charge with 22 points on an efficient 7-of-12 (58.3%) line. He also drained half of his four three-point attempts, and made 6-of-8 from the free-throw stripe. Jarvis Jennings came through with a 19-point performance off the bench, pouring in 6-of-9 (66.7%) from the field. He matched Clarks six made free throws on eight tries. Andrew O'Brien sunk half of his shots at 7-of-14 for the night, while nailing one three-pointer. The uber-athletic Deng Bol finished with 13 points on 6-of-10 (60%) shooting, and Trey Abasolo was the final double-digit scorer with 12 on a 3-of-5 (60%) shooting night with five converted free throws as a reserve.

"Jarvis Jennings gave us a huge spark off the bench," stated O'Brien. "He did a really nice job of slowing down and scoring in the paint."

Abasolo was credited with a team-high four assists in the bout, while O'Brien followed him closely with three. Bol also had multiple dimes with a pair in the tilt, while the list of Clark, Cooper Pierce, Phillip Smith and Rance Kendrick each had a single assist.

Rebounding was well distributed across the roster in this one, as O'Brien's eight led the squad. Then, Zach Hidalgo was responsible for the second-highest rebounding total with six, and both Pierce and Trey White nabbed five backboards. Bol, Jennings and Smith had three rebounds, while Abasolo had two to round out the list.

Clark, Bol and Hidalgo were awarded steals in the game as the only three Builders to take the ball away from McPherson. Meanwhile, with a pair of rejections in the win, Hidalgo was the lone shot-blocking contributor.

"Zach Hidalgo played good minutes off the bench," O'Brien continued. "That was particularly true on the defensive end," he declared.

As the Moundbuilders (20-5, 14-5 KCAC) continue to rack up accolades, their regular-season slate is beginning to wind down. On Saturday, their final home regular-season contest will take place inside Stewart Field House. The Senior Day battle will be against the surging Bethany College Swedes at 5 p.m. on Feb. 11, as the squad looks to sew up a top-four seed in the KCAC Tournament with just three games left to be played.

--buildersports.com--