WICHITA, Kan. – The York University Panthers created a double-digit lead early in the second half and then held on for a 90-84 win over the Friends University Falcons in KCAC action today (Jan. 6) inside the Garvey Center.

Leading by four at halftime, five points from Devin Carroll helped the Panthers quickly stretch the lead to 10 by the 16:31 mark.

York led the rest of the way and twice pushed the lead to a game-high 15 points, with the last occasion coming on a three by Jaden Henderson that made it 80-65 with three minutes left.

The Falcons didn't go down easy though and clawed within seven when consecutive buckets inside by Al Emerllahu and KJ Spiller trimmed the deficit to 86-79 with 31 seconds left.

After Cam Clardy went 4-of-4 at the charity stripe to keep the Panthers in control, the Falcons clawed within six on a three-point play by Steele Chapman and had a chance to come even closer following a turnover, but a missed three and missed putback in the final seconds sealed the win for York.

For the second straight game, the Falcons came out of the gates strong and scored the game's first eight points behind threes from Drew Patterson and Tim Barbieri.

Henderson then scored five straight points to help the Panthers score the next seven overall and then scored again to tie the game at 13-13.

The remainder of the first half would feature six more ties and seven lead changes before York carried a 42-38 lead into the break.

Emerllahu scored a season-high 19 points to lead the Falcons, followed by 15 points and a team-leading nine rebounds from Spiller. Patterson added 14 points and team-high five assists, while Chapman chipped in with 12 points for Friends (4-8, 2-6 KCAC).

The Panthers (6-8, 4-4 KCAC) also placed four players in double-figures, led by a game-high 25 from Henderson. Trevon Dennis scored 15 along with a team-leading seven boards, with Clardy (13 points) and Andrew Bennett (11 points) also reaching double-digit scoring.

Friends was outrebounded 33-28, but outscored the Panthers 36-24 in the paint and 7-4 in second chance points.

The Panthers were red-hot in the second half, shooting 60.9 percent (14-of-23) for a 56.6 field-goal percentage for the game (30-of-53).

The Falcons were also solid offensively, hitting 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the floor overall, including a 56.7 shooting clip (17-of-30) after halftime.