WWW arkcity.net

By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor
sports@arkcity.net

While it was cold and cloudy outside, it was raining three's inside Arkansas City High School.

The problem for Ark City was that McPherson, ranked No. 8 in Class 5A, excelled in nearly every other facet of the game, as well.

It was evident from the onset Friday night that McPherson wanted to use an up-tempo pace to run the Bulldogs out of the building.

With the Bullpups featuring a deeper bench than Ark City, McPherson looked to quickly wear down the Bulldogs.

McPherson accomplished that by the end of the first quarter.

And the Bullpups never let up, sending Ark City to its worst home loss of the season with an 85-45 thumping. The loss was Ark City's third straight.

Ark City coach Ben Proctor had not experienced more than an eight-point home loss this season -- a 50-42 loss to Wellington in the season opener -- until last night.

"Everything was good for them. Everything was bad for us," Ark City coach Ben Proctor said.

Three-point shooting was the only thing that kept Ark City in Friday's game -- for a while.

Ryan Rohrs sandwiched two three-pointers around three McPherson layups to tie the game at 6 just over two minutes in. Jordan Fields then hit a three-pointer of his own to bring Ark City to within 11-9 with 4:46 remaining in the first quarter.

Rohrs finished with 13 points, including four three-pointers. Fields added six points on two three-pointers.

Both teams found their mark from behind the arc in the first half, combining for 10 three-pointers. Overall, Ark City made seven three-pointers, while McPherson had nine.

But that became the problem for the Bulldogs, as McPherson limited them to being a perimeter-shooting team. Of Ark City's 15 field goals, seven were three-pointers.

Most rebounds that were for the taking after a missed shot by Ark City, McPherson collected them. The Bullpups out-rebounded Ark City 28-21.

"They're athletic, big, strong," Proctor said. "We didn't always put a body on them."

And don't get started on the defensive end.

The Bullpups (15-3, 8-0 AVCTL Division II) pushed the tempo throughout, turning steals into easy layups, using quick ball rotation to pick apart Ark City's defense and took advantage of multiple second-chance opportunities on the offensive end.

Kolin Walk made a layup off an inbounds play for a 15-9 McPherson lead. Vince Ruxlow then buried a three-pointer from the left corner for an 18-9 Bullpups lead after one quarter.

Walk was one of three Bullpups in double figures. He finished with 12 points. Chad Niemen also added 12 points. Aaron Frazier led McPherson with 20 points.

Tayler Rock cut McPherson's lead to 26-19 after back-to-back layups midway through the second quarter. Rock led Ark City with 14 points and eight rebounds.

But the Bullpups eliminated any suspense by halftime, using a 14-4 run to close out the second quarter for a 40-23 lead at intermission.

It only got worse for the weary Bulldogs.

Treg Fawl gave McPherson its first 30-point advantage on a layup late in the third quarter.

Ark City's defense was non-existent most of the night, as it surrendered 17 layups to McPherson -- seven off steals.

Ark City (8-10, 3-5) committed 24 turnovers, compared to 13 for McPherson.

The Bulldogs also left McPherson's shooters wide-open behind the three-point line.

Fawl capped off a strong third quarter for the Bullpups, burying a three-pointer from the left corner as time expired for a 66-32 lead.

"They flat-out beat us," Proctor said.

With two games left in the regular season, Ark City is still eyeing a first-round home playoff game. But Proctor knows that his team needs to get back into the win column to assure that happens.

"We've talked about it," he said. "That's been a goal of ours for the last few weeks. We just need to play better basketball."

McPherson 18 22 26 19 -- 85
Ark City 9 14 9 13 -- 45

McPherson -- Frazier 20, Walk 12, Nieman 12, Fawl 7, Burch 2, Bruner 5, Ruxlow 5, Gerhardt 5, Anderson 4, Stucky 4, Piper 2, Hawkinson 6, Ulsaker 2.
Ark City -- Rock 14, Rohrs 13, Fields 6, Freeman 4, Miller 5, Harris 3.