WICHITA, Kan. – Just past the midway point of the first half, the Friends University Falcons found their footing and took command on the way to a 95-67 non-conference victory over the Spurgeon College Knights this evening (Jan. 8) inside the Garvey Center.

The Knights started strong, building a nine-point lead of 12-3 four minutes into the contest.

Christian Williams provided the response for Friends, scoring the last seven points of a 10-0 spurt to put the Falcons on top.

Spurgeon managed to hang around a little longer, regaining a three-point edge on a three-pointer from Drew Middleton for a 21-18 lead at the 9:43 mark of the opening half.

At that moment, the Falcons clamped down and asserted themselves, making their way to the free throw line and hitting all 12 attempts at the charity stripe to fuel a 22-2 push and take a 40-23 cushion with 5:58 left until halftime.

Steele Chapman then scored seven points and Drew Patterson added five to bolster a 17-5 push to conclude the half and give the Falcons a 57-31 lead at the break.

The Falcons also tightened up defensively, forcing six turnovers and limiting the Knights to just 4-of-14 from the field over the final nine minutes of the first half after allowing a 42.9 percent clip (9-of-21) during  the opening 11 minutes of the game.

Friends then had things on cruise control throughout the second half, never letting the lead dip below 18 and eventually taking a game-lead of 29 points when two free throws by Ian Sprouffske made it 95-66 with 1:07 remaining.

"We're happy to get the first win of 2024 on the board after a couple close ones last week," said Friends men's basketball head coach Phil McClintock. "We appreciate Coach Livezey's guys coming in and competing and making us better tonight. Our guys are ready and excited for two more KCAC games to finish out the week."

Patterson and Williams each scored a season-high 17 points to lead the Falcons offensively. KJ Spiller added 11 points, while Steve Staco produced his best game of the season, scoring eight points and recording a game-high nine rebounds. Tim Barbieri also dished out a team-leading and season-high four assists for Friends.

Middleton paced the Knights with 17 points, with Michael Berry scoring 13 and recording a team-high seven boards. Tyler Smith chipped in with 10 points and Jude Warren had a team-leading five assists for Spurgeon.

The interior belonged to the Falcons, highlighted by a 53-36 edge in rebounding and scoring advantages of 40-24 in the paint and 23-9 in second chance points.

The Falcons also outscored the Knights 42-13 off the bench, led by Williams' 17 point total.