Coyotes hold off McPherson for 53-50 win
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

McPHERSON – Usually when a team commits 22 turnovers and shoots 32.7 percent from the field, they are on the short end of the scoreboard. However, Kansas Wesleyan turned the tides of poor shooting and bad handles as the Coyotes closed the game on a 15-3 run to get by McPherson College 53-50 on Monday night inside the McPherson College Sport Center.

The Coyotes were the beneficiary of 26 McPherson mishandles, that resulted in 27 points off turnovers, while the Bulldogs in turn, created 25 points off Wesleyan’s miscues.

In an ugly first half, that featured a combined 26 turnovers, Wesleyan found itself behind 7-2 with 16:10 to go after a pair of free throws from Cody Dickerson.

Eric Hammond got the Coyotes headed in the right direction, knocking down a pair of charities, and Tony Boone would later connect on a three to tie it up at 7-all with 12:30 to go.

That’s when things went sour for the Coyotes. Scoreless for over four minutes, Wesleyan saw McPherson build its biggest lead of the night to that point at 16-7 with 9:02 to go on a three from Jorge Espino.

The Coyotes would not score until the 7:48 mark when Romero Hood would rebound a Mychal Henderson miss and put it back. The Bulldogs wasted no time extending their lead, using a Tyler Stewart triple to post a ten-point advantage on their next possession.

Wesleyan (8-9, 6-2) would not go away quietly, using a 10-2 run capped by a three from Willie McCarty to get within two with 3:10 to go in the first half.

Zach Kimble would tip in a Stewart miss to put the Bulldogs up four with 2:17 to go, but after a nearly two minute span with no scoring, Henderson would convert a layup off a pass from Tony Boone to get Wesleyan within two with 35 seconds left.

McPherson would take the 23-21 lead into the break.

Trey Sims would tie things up to start the second half, but McPherson would answer back, going up by four with 17:25 to go on a pair of Dickerson free throws to make it 27-23.

That’s when the Coyotes would make their first big run of the night. Mitch Arnett would send Hood to the line where he would connect on both foul shots, sparking a 10-0 Coyote run that saw Wesleyan take its first lead of the night on back to back Sims triples, putting the Coyotes up 33-27 with 15:36 to go.

McPherson (10-7, 4-4) would eventually find itself down seven, 35-28, after a Hood bucket with 14:11 left, before the Bulldogs would work their way back into it.

Kimble would start the run with a pair of free throws with 13:50 left as the Bulldogs would outscore Wesleyan 19-3 over the next eight minutes to take a nine-point lead 47-38, with 5:41 left.

That’s when Wesleyan would begin its march to the win. Just over a minute later, Hood would hit one of two free throws as the Coyotes erased the McPherson lead, tying things up on a Hammond bucket with three minutes left to tie things up at 47-all.

After a McPherson miss, Sims would bury a triple to put the Coyotes up for good, as Wesleyan would build a four point lead with 44 seconds left on another Hammond bucket.

Arnett would tip home a Shawn Young miss with 32 seconds left, to get back within two, but Boone would hit one of two free throws with eight seconds left to seal the win for the Coyotes.

Hood led Wesleyan with 13 points, while Sims added 11 and McCarty had ten in his first start of the second semester. Wesleyan was 18-of-55 from the field for 32.7 percent. Boone had nine rebounds to lead the Coyotes, while Hood added seven. Boone also had six assists, while Hood led the way with six steals.

Arnett led McPherson with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Young added 12 points, but also committed 12 of the Bulldogs 26 turnovers. The Bulldogs were 18-of-53 from the floor for 34 percent, but were just 8-of-31 in the second half for 25.8 percent. McPherson outrebounded Wesleyan 42-36.

The Coyotes continue a busy week of action on Thursday as they travel to Hillsboro to take on Tabor before opening a four-game home stand on Saturday against Ottawa.

-- KWU SI --