The Lowdown: McPherson College at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Nov. 18 @ 7 pm

Broadcast

Live Stats

Tickets

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons are 1-3 on the season after dropping a 99-78 decision at Kansas Wesleyan University in the KCAC opener Wednesday night (Nov. 15) in Salina, Kan. The Falcons hung around much of the way, but the Coyotes got eight points from Alex Littlejohn to fuel an 11-0 decisive spurt that gave KWU the separation it needed to close out the win.

The Falcons also played an exhibition game at Wichita State University on Sunday (Nov. 12).  Friends came out strong, leading at the first and the second media timeouts before the Shockers used a 20-0 spurt to take command on the way to a 95-65 win.

Drew Patterson leads the Falcons this season with 14.0 points per game and has been especially effective from three-point distance, hitting 52 percent (13-of-25) from the perimeter that is tied for fourth in the KCAC. KJ Spiller is averaging 10.0 ppg along with a team-high 2.5 assists, while Tim Barbieri has recorded a team-leading seven rebounds a game for Friends.

Scouting the Bulldogs: The McPherson College Bulldogs have won all five games they've played this season after winning their KCAC opener 61-57 at home over Bethel College Wednesday night.

Collin Storr is pacing McPherson in both points (17.0 ppg) and rebounds (8.8 rpg) this season. Curtis Rose leads the Bulldogs with 3.6 assists on the year.    

The Series: The Falcons are 24-16 against the Bulldogs since 2005, but lost last season's meeting 88-68 inside the Garvey Center. Friends is also 15-7 vs. McPherson in Wichita during that span.  Recent history has been even, with both schools splitting the last 10 matchups.       

Quoting head coach Phil McClintock:     

?"We are excited to open up the conference season at home. We have had a tough stretch of games on the road including the Wichita State Exhibition. McPherson is undefeated and will be a tough opponent but I feel like this young team is ready to feed off the energy of our home crowd and compete!""

Sponsor Alerts: Friends University Athletics is excited to have Home2 Suites by Hilton back as an official athletic sponsor this season! For more on what they can offer, click HERE to visit their official webpage.

Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall record: 1-3

KCAC: 0-1

Home: 1-0

Road: 0-3

Neutral: 0-0

When scoring:                                             

Under 50 points: 0-0

50-59 points: 0-0

60-69 points: 0-1

70-79 points: 0-2

80-89 points: 0-0

90+ points: 1-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points:

50-59 points: 1-0

60-69 points: 0-0

70-79 points: 0-0

80-89 points: 0-2

90+ points: 0-1

When leading at halftime: 1-0

When trailing at halftime: 0-3

When tied at halftime: 0-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 1-2

When committing more turnovers: 0-1

When turnovers are tied: 0-0

When leading in field-goal percentage: 1-0

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-3

When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 1-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 0-2

When three-point percentage is tied: 0-0

When leading in rebounding: 1-0

When trailing in rebounding: 0-3

When rebounding is tied: 0-0

When leading in assists: 1-1

When trailing in assists: 0-2

When assists are tied: 0-0

In OT: 0-0

The Coaches:

Phil McClintock is in his first season as head coach of the Friends University men's basketball program.

McClintock brings a stark familiarity of the KCAC to Friends, highlighted by an eight-year tenure as Associate Men's Basketball Head Coach at Ottawa University.

At Ottawa, McClintock served as the recruiting coordinator and was responsible for film breakdown and scouting reports.

2019-20 was a breakout season, as McClintock brought in six of the team's top 10 players that produced a school-record 28 victories, a regular season KCAC championship and an NAIA Sweet 16 appearance (tournament ended early due to COVID-19).

In addition to his basketball coaching experience at Ottawa, McClintock has also been the Braves Men's and Women's Golf head coach for the past four seasons.

McClintock's first basketball head coaching position came at Salem high school, where he spent three seasons and guided the team in the 2014-15 campaign to their first winning record in eight years.

A strong developer of young players, McClintock has served as a Camp Coach at the KU Bill Self Basketball Camps every year since 2012. His responsibilities at the camp include running drills, coaching teams and developing player skills.

His first career coaching job was a two-year tenure as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at William Woods University from 2010-12.

McClintock also played collegiately at Ottawa and enjoyed immense success, earning two NAIA All-America honors, a pair of All-KCAC nods while finishing his career as the all-time leader in blocked shots and top five all-time in scoring, rebounding and steals. An Ottawa University Hall of Fame inductee in 2021, he helped the Braves to two conference titles and a pair of NAIA Sweet 16 berths.

A 2009 graduate of Ottawa University in Physical Education and Health, McClintock then earned his Master of Education in Athletics/Activities Administration from William Woods University in 2012.

McClintock and his wife Kirsten have three boys, Lawson (14), Jackson (10), and Bodie (two).

T.J. Eskildsen is in his fifth season at the helm of the McPherson College Bulldogs after a nine-year tenure as an assistant coach with the program. In his first two seasons, Eskildsen guided the Bulldogs to consecutive fourth-place finishes in the KCAC.  

Up Next: The Falcons will be back home Tuesday night (Nov. 21) for a non-conference tilt vs. Haskell Indian Nations University prior to heading into the Thanksgiving break.