The Lowdown: University of Saint Mary at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Feb. 10 @ 3 pm
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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons carried a 40-36 lead into the break at Ottawa University, but were outscored 50-33 in the second half in falling 86-73 to the Braves Wednesday night (Feb. 7) in Ottawa, Kan. Read the full recap HERE!
KJ Spiller leads the Falcons in scoring (15.2 ppg) and is tied with Tim Barbieri for the team-lead in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Steele Chapman has also dished out a team-high 2.8 assists on the season.
As a team, the Falcons are shooting 44.8 percent overall from the floor and a solid 35.0 percent from the perimeter.
Scouting the Spires: The University of Saint Mary Spires have won five of six to move to 12-11 overall and 8-9 in the KCAC. The only loss for the Spires in that stretch was on the road at KCAC leader Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
Deshaud St. Martin is the leader across the board this season for the Spires, posting team-highs in points (14.2 ppg), rebounding (7.3 rpg) and assists (2.1 apg). Joey Schultz is also averaging double-figure points with 10.3 ppg for Saint Mary.
The Series: The Falcons won 71-59 at Saint Mary earlier this season to improve to 29-13 vs. the Spires since the 2004-05 season. Friends is 17-4 against Saint Mary in Wichita during that stretch and is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings overall.
Quoting head coach Phil McClintock:
"This is our second to last home game so one of our last chances to win in front of our fans. Saint Mary is playing good basketball lately so we will have to play our best basketball to be able to win."
Boarding School: The Falcons have won seven of nine games this season when leading in rebounding, but are just 1-11 when the opposition holds the edge on the glass. Friends also lost the only time that the rebounds were even.
Straight Shooters: The Falcons are 6-2 when outshooting the opposition, but are 2-12 when the opposing team leads in field-goal percentage.
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: 8-14
KCAC: 5-12
Home: 6-6
Road: 2-8
Neutral: 0-0
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 0-1
50-59 points: 0-1
60-69 points: 1-3
70-79 points: 3-6
80-89 points: 0-2
90+ points: 4-1
When allowing:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points: 2-0
60-69 points: 3-2
70-79 points: 1-1
80-89 points: 1-6
90+ points: 1-5
When leading at halftime: 5-5
When trailing at halftime: 3-9
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 4-7
When committing more turnovers: 4-7
When turnovers are tied: 0-0
When leading in field-goal percentage: 6-2
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 2-12
When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 5-6
When trailing in three-point percentage: 3-8
When three-point percentage is tied: 0-0
When leading in rebounding: 7-2
When trailing in rebounding: 1-11
When rebounding is tied: 0-1
When leading in assists: 4-1
When trailing in assists: 3-13
When assists are tied: 1-0
In OT: 0-1
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).
Troy Brown is in his 10th season as head coach of the University of Saint Mary Spires. Brown was named the interim head coach in the 2014-15 season and guided the program to a 22-9 record and a 13-5 KCAC mark. Brown was then named the permanent head coach in March of 2015 and promptly led the Spires to three consecutive top-four conference finishes, including a pair of third-place showings. Prior to that, Brown was an assistant coach at USM for three seasons.
Brown also played collegiately at Saint Mary from 1999-01 and was named MVP of the 2001 KCAC championship team before averaging 23 points per game during the Spires' NAIA National Tournament appearance.
Up Next: The Falcons will face No. 9-ranked Southwestern College Wednesday night (Feb. 14) at 8 pm in Winfield, Kan.
