McPHERSON - The Kansas Wesleyan men needed a spark from someone in their attempts to avoid a third consecutive heartbreaking loss.
Aiden Leckband answered the call.
Leckband, a sophomore guard from McKinney, Texas, came off the bench and scored nine of his 13 points the final 6:11 of the game, including five the final 1:43, as the Coyotes hung on for a much-needed 83-78 Kansas Conference victory Wednesday night inside the Sport Center.
KWU improved to 9-8 overall, 4-7 in the KCAC while McPherson fell to 7-10 and 5-6.
Clinging to a 74-72 lead Leckband made a clutch 3-pointer with 1:43 left to bump the lead to 77-72. Two McPherson free throws trimmed it to 77-74 with 1:17 left but KWU went 6-for-6 at the foul line the final 23.9 seconds, the first two by Leckband.
"He's young, he's learning, he's getting better," coach Anthony Monson said of Leckband on the postgame radio show. "He hit some big (shots) tonight when we needed them most."
Leckband finished the game 4 of 8 from the field and 4 of 4 at the free throw line to go along with three assists, three rebounds and a steal. Alex Littlejohn and Easton Hunter led the Coyotes with 17 points apiece.
Littlejohn also grabbed 12 rebounds and has 1,118 for his career, just 31 shy of Charles Fiffe record set in 1950. Littlejohn became the career scoring leader on Saturday, surpassing Gary Cassel's 70-year-old record.
KWU was coming off back-to-back three-point losses to Bethel and Avila but refused to lose Wednesday.
Leading 32-21 with 6:44 left in the first half, the Coyotes went cold and McPherson responded with a 22-10 surge and led 43-42 at the intermission.
Down 52-48 with 15½ minutes left in the game KWU regained the advantage with a 14-2 run that made it 62-54 with 9½ minutes remaining. The Coyotes led 68-59 after a Littlejohn basket with 6:40 left but McPherson rallied once again with a 13-6 run and got within 74-72 with 1:56 left.
Leckband's clutch 3-pointer upped the lead to five and set the stage for the free throw flurry in the final 24 seconds.
"Complete team effort, guys stepping up making plays, making shots," Monson said. "We didn't shoot the ball extremely well but played with a lot of energy, a lot of heart, a lot of pride tonight. I'm really proud of these guys tonight."
The Coyotes shot 45.6 percent overall (31 of 68) including 4 of 15 from 3-point range and were outrebounded 41-30. Carson Jones had nine points while Evens Appolon and Izaiah Hale each had eight as 10 Coyotes scored in the game. Hale also had three steals.
Curtis Rose scored 19 and Collin Storr had 18 and 14 rebounds for McPherson which shot 43.3 percent (29 of 67) but the Bulldogs were 0 of 13 from beyond the 3-point arc.
KWU's three-game road trip concludes with a contest against Evangel at 2 p.m. Saturday in Springfield, Mo. The Valor (7-10, 4-7 KCAC) lost to Avila 78-67 Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo.