The Lowdown: McPherson College at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Dec. 14 @ 5 pm
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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons secured their best 10-game start since the 2013-14 season with a 70-53 road victory at Tabor College Wednesday night (Dec. 11) that made their record 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the KCAC. Read the full recap HERE!
KJ Spiller leads the Falcons and is fifth in the KCAC with 15.4 ppg along with a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per game. Kee'on Hutton (11.1 ppg), Cahlese Lee (10.4 ppg) and Randy Woolf, Jr. (10.1 ppg) are also scoring in double-figures on the season to give the Falcons a balanced offensive attack. Wolf, Jr. leads the Falcons with 3.1 assists and Lee has recorded a team-leading 1.7 steals.
Scouting the Bulldogs: The McPherson College Bulldogs snapped a six-game losing skid with a 77-72 win over Bethany College on Wednesday. McPherson is now 3-7 overall and 1-5 in the KCAC.
Collin Storr has team-highs in scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg) for the Bulldogs, followed by Curtis Rose with 13.0 ppg and a team-leading 3.3 assists per game. Aaron Williams, Jr has chipped in with 12.6 ppg.
The Series: The Falcons and Bulldogs split the season series last year, with each team winning at home. Friends is 25-17 vs. McPherson overall since 2005, with a 16-7 record in Wichita.
Quoting head coach Phil McClintock:
"McPherson will be a tough opponent for us to finish off the first semester conference season. TJ does a great job and always has his team in the top half of the conference by the end of the year. They have one of the most talented rosters in our league and have a dominant big man. It will take us being locked in on both ends to come away with a win on Saturday."
Half Good: When taking a lead into the locker room this season, the Falcons have won all seven games. But they're just 1-2 when trailing at the break.
Straight Shooters: The Falcons are 7-0 when outshooting the opposition from the field but are 1-2 when the opposing team records a higher field-goal percentage.
SCHEELS: We are proud to have Scheels as a sponsor of Friends University Athletics this season! Click HERE for more info on the Scheels store in Wichita.
Falcons by the Numbers:
Overall record: 8-2
KCAC: 5-1
Home: 2-1
Road: 4-1
Neutral: 2-0
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 0-0
50-59 points: 0-1
60-69 points: 0-0
70-79 points: 3-1
80-89 points: 2-0
90+ points: 3-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points: 2-0
60-69 points: 3-0
70-79 points: 3-0
80-89 points: 0-2
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 7-0
When trailing at halftime: 1-2
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 7-1
When committing more turnovers: 1-1
When turnovers are tied: 0-0
When leading in field-goal percentage: 7-0
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-2
When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 6-0
When trailing in three-point percentage: 2-2
When three-point percentage is tied: 0-0
When leading in rebounding: 7-0
When trailing in rebounding: 1-2
When rebounding is tied: 0-0
When leading in assists: 6-0
When trailing in assists: 2-2
When assists are tied: 0-0
In OT: 0-0
The Coaches:
Phil McClintock is in his second 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 (15), Jackson (11), and Bodie (three).
T.J. Eskildsen is in his sixth season at the helm of the McPherson College Bulldogs after a nine-year tenure as an assistant coach with the program. Eskildsen has led McPherson to the KCAC Tournament in all but one season of his tenure.
Up Next: The Falcons will be at William Woods University on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 17) at 1 pm in Fulton. Mo. before taking time off for the Christmas Break.
