McPherson, Kan. – The McPherson College Bulldogs scored five points in the final nine seconds to come away with a 71-66 win over the Friends University Falcons in KCAC action tonight (Jan. 31) in McPherson, Kan.
Following a three by Jamil Hardaway that gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead at the 1:16 mark of the second half, KJ Spiller scored inside to put the Falcons back in front.
Then with nine seconds left on the clock, Al Emerllahu split a pair at the charity stripe for a two-point Friends lead.
That's when the Bulldogs finished with a fury, starting with Curtis Rose driving inside and converting a three-point play with just 1.5 seconds left.
The Falcons then turned it over on the inbounds pass and a flagrant foul was called, with Owen Braxmeyer and Hardaway each going 2-of-2 at the foul line to put it away for McPherson.
Friends trailed much of the first half until Steele Chapman scored five straight points to spark a 7-0 spurt and give the Falcons a three-point lead.
The Bulldogs then regained the lead and took a 35-31 lead at the break.
After a layup by Braxmeyer early in the second half pushed the Bulldog lead to six, Spiller went to work and scored four points to key a 6-0 push overall and tie the score at 37-37.
With the score knotted at 40-40, a jumper by Christian Williams both started and finished an 11-3 burst to provide the Falcons with an eight-point lead of 51-43 with 11 minutes remaining in the game.
The Falcons twice more led by eight points and were still on top by seven when Collin Storr scored the Bulldogs' next eight points as a three by Hardaway capped a 12-4 run and put McPherson in front 64-63 at the 1:16 mark.
Just one game after reaching 24 points, Spiller continued his strong run with a game-high 23 points in this one for the Falcons. Emerllahu chipped in with 12 points and Tim Barbieri had a team-high eight rebounds. Drew Patterson also recorded a team-leading four assists for Friends (7-13, 4-11 KCAC).
Hardaway and Storr each scored 20 to pace the Bulldogs, while Labron Wilson had 13 points. Braxmeyer led the Bulldogs (15-6, 10-5 KCAC) with 11 boards.
The Falcons outshot the Bulldogs from the field (43.4 percent-37.7 percent), from three-point distance (26.7 percent-16 percent) and from the foul line (80 percent-72.4 percent), but McPherson managed to hit five more free throws (21-16) for what proved to be the miniscule difference in a tightly contested game throughout.
Up next, the Falcons will host Bethany College Saturday night (Feb. 3) at 7 pm inside the Garvey Center.
Don't miss the upcoming "Faith Night" on Saturday, purchase tickets now! Any church groups interested in attend the game should email Friends University VP of Athletics & Strategic Expansion Dr. Rob Ramseyer at rob_ramseyer@friends.edu
