MCPHERSON, Kan. – The York University men's basketball team lost a 97-71 game at McPherson College Tuesday evening.

The Panthers are now 7-17 overall, including 4-15 in KCAC action.

Head coach Tree Burks' team was led by Chris Dixon's 24-point, five-rebound effort. He hit nine-of-16 from the field, including five-of-seven from distance. Amari Haynes connected for 13 points and dished out five assists. Eli Nutting totaled nine points while Dylan Holston had eight markers.

Dave Dalge and Carl Thorpe Jr., had six points apiece. For good measure, DJ Leaks and Devin Carroll added three and two, respectively.

Down 29-4 with just over 11:15 to go, Dixon nailed a three-ball off a pass from Haynes. Seconds later, Dixon hit a free throw. Haynes and Dixon converted lay-ups, making it 29-12 at the 9:19 mark. Trailing 33-12, Dalge canned a jumper. Rhino Hernandez found Dixon for a three-point bucket with 6:30 on the clock, pulling the Panthers within 16 at 33-17.

Facing a 37-17 deficit, Nutting took a pass from Dixon and buried a shot from distance. A Leaks lay-up trimmed the deficit to 15.

The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 44-25 before Haynes found Nutting for another shot from deep. A basket by Haynes with 26 seconds to go made it 46-31.  

York sliced the margin to 13 on a lay-up by Carroll, but a 9-0 spurt by the Bulldogs made it 57-35 at the 16:43 mark. Trailing 64-38, Holston started a run by the Panthers with a lay-up.

Thorpe Jr., hit a free throw before Haynes canned two. Holston's basket off a pass by Nutting completed a 7-0 run. However, the team could get no closer the rest of the way.

For the game, York hit 26-of-70 from the floor, including nine-of-26 from downtown. The squad canned 10-of-14 free throws. The Panthers distributed 17 assists and scored 30 points in the paint. York had nine second-chance points.

The Panthers return to action on Saturday when they host Oklahoma Wesleyan at 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at Yorkpanthers.com.