Ottawa, Kan. – The Ottawa University Braves outscored the Friends University Falcons 50-33 in the second half to overcome a four-point halftime deficit and win 86-73 in KCAC action tonight (Feb. 7) in Ottawa, Kan.

The Falcons trailed by eight early when a three by the returning Kee'on Hutton finished an 8-0 spurt to square the game at 15-15.

After the Braves went back in front by four, a bucket from Steele Chapman and a three by Drew Patterson gave the Falcons their first lead of the game, 21-20 at the 11:04 mark of the opening half.

The see-saw battle continued as consecutive threes from Payton Kaiser helped the Braves take a five-point lead, but Patterson again connected from long distance following a three-point play by KJ Spiller to put the Falcons up 29-26.

Another score from Hutton gave the Falcons their biggest lead of eight points before the Braves closed within 40-36 at the break.

The Braves got going early in the second half, using a quick 8-3 burst to regain the lead at 44-43.

Friends kept battling and the game saw four ties and six lead changes over the next 6:30 until Ottawa finally shook the Falcons for good.

With the score in a 58-58 gridlock, two free throws by Jayden Hibbitt gave the Braves the lead for good and ignited a 13-3 run that gave Ottawa its biggest lead to that point of 71-61 with 4:31 left.

The Braves led by at least seven the rest of the way and eventually took their biggest edge of 15 points at the 24 second mark.

Spiller led four Falcons (8-14, 5-12 KCAC) in double-figures with 16 points and six rebounds, with Chapman finishing with 13 points, four assists and three steals. Patterson chipped in with 10 points and Hutton also scored 10 along with three thefts.

Deondre Buggage led all scorers with 27 points and eight assists, while Hibbitt was next with 20 points. Angok Anyang had a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards and Kaiser added 11 points for Ottawa (14-9, 9-8 KCAC).

The Braves were red-hot offensively, shooting 61.7 percent (29-of-47) for the game and holding a 36-25 edge in rebounding.