McPherson, Kan.—USM basketball hit the road for a challenging KCAC Saturday match up against the McPherson College Bulldogs on Saturday, December 7^th in Holman Fieldhouse. Despite a valiant effort, the Spires fell to the Bulldogs with a final score of 92-103.

McPherson led from the jump, as Jayden Wright scored the opening basket with a quick layup. The Spires responded with a dagger three from Jason Parson II, briefly taking control. However, McPherson's physical play saw USM digging themselves out from an 18-point deficit. Headed into halftime, the score stood at 50-32 in favor of the Bulldogs.

USM came out of the locker room swinging led by Parson's double-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and a head turning 7 assists and 3 steals to go along with that, Jordan Brown's 21 points, 3 assists, and 1 steal and Terrius Walker's 18 points and 2 steals. Defensive efforts on both sides were intense, notably, Kaeden Bonner contributed 10 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals for the Spires. Frustratingly, McPherson managed to maintain control of the lead further by capitalizing in the paint and managing turnovers, culminating in a final score of 103-92 in favor of the Bulldogs.

USM is eager to put all the pieces together in their final home game until the new year against the Avila University Eagles at Ryan Sports Center on Wednesday, December 10^th with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m. Your Spire men hold a season record of 6-4 and 1-4 in KCAC play.