The Lowdown: No. 24 Oklahoma Wesleyan University at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Jan. 11 @ 5 pm

Broadcast

Live Stats

Tickets

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons won for the third straight time by defeating the Sterling College Warriors 86-79 Wednesday night (Jan. 8).  The win moves the Falcons to 11-4 overall and into second place in the KCAC at 7-2 in the league. Read the full recap vs. Sterling HERE! 

KJ Spiller leads Friends with 16.4 ppg along with a team-leading 6.5 rebounds per game. Cahlese Lee (12.0 ppg) and Kee'on Hutton (11.1 ppg are also scoring in double-figures this season to give the Falcons a balanced offensive attack. Randy Wolf, Jr. has dished out a team-leading 3.9 assists and Lee has recorded a team-leading 1.7 steals.

Scouting the Eagles: The No. 24-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles are 9-5 overall and 6-2 in the KCAC, one half game behind the Falcons in the league. OKWU has dropped two straight, last falling 65-61 at home to conference unbeaten Saint Mary on Wednesday.

Jaden Lietzke is first on the Eagles in both scoring (16.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg) this season while also leading the KCAC in field-goal percentage (76.4). Derrick Talton, Jr. has recorded a conference-high 5.6 assists for OKWU.

The Series: The Falcons fell 82-58 earlier this season to the Eagles in Bartlesville, Okla. and have now dropped eight straight in the series. Friends is 7-26 overall vs. OKWU since 2007, with a 5-9 mark in Wichita during that timeframe. The Falcons last bested the Eagles 75-71 at home during the 2019-20 season. 

Quoting head coach Phil McClintock:      

"Saturday will be a good test for us. OKWU is a great program and a ranked team that is always at the top of our conference. We will have to be together and tough to have a chance. We have some momentum built and we are looking forward to building on that on Saturday."

Seeing Red: Saturday's home game vs. Oklahoma Wesleyan has been dubbed a "Red Out", with fans encouraged to wear red to help create a vibrant atmosphere for the Falcons! There will also be drawings for prizes such as Taco Shop gift cards!

What's at Stake: With a win over Oklahoma Wesleyan, the Falcons would move to 8-2 in the KCAC for the program's best 10-game conference start in a decade.

Statistical Anomaly: Heading into Wednesday night's game vs. Sterling, the Falcons had won 9 of 10 games when leading at halftime, committing fewer turnovers and leading in field-goal percentage, while winning just once when trailing in those categories. But the Falcons managed to pull out an 86-79 win over Sterling despite trailing at halftime, committing more turnovers and shooting a lesser field-goal percentage. 

Top Conference Honor: KJ Spiller snagged his first career KCAC Men's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week award after averaging 17.0 ppg and five rebounds in two Falcon victories this past week, including a team-high 22 points in the Falcons' offensive explosion at Ottawa. Read the full release HERE!

High-level security: The Falcons are 9-1 when committing fewer turnovers but have dropped three of five games when losing the turnover battle this season.

Glass House: The Falcons have won all 10 games when leading in rebounding but are just 1-4 when the opposition controls the boards.

Half Good: When taking a lead into the locker room this season, the Falcons have won nine of 10 games. But they're just 2-3 when trailing at the break.

Straight Shooters: The Falcons are 9-1 when outshooting the opposition from the field but are 2-3 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: 11-4

KCAC: 7-2 

Home: 4-2 

Road: 5-2

Neutral: 2-0 

When scoring:                                              

Under 50 points: 0-0 

50-59 points: 0-1 

60-69 points: 0-1

70-79 points: 3-2 

80-89 points: 4-0 

90+ points: 4-0 

When allowing: 

Under 50 points: 

50-59 points: 3-0 

60-69 points: 3-0 

70-79 points: 4-2 

80-89 points: 1-2 

90+ points: 0-0 

When leading at halftime: 9-1 

When trailing at halftime: 2-3

When tied at halftime: 0-0 

When committing fewer turnovers: 9-1 

When committing more turnovers: 2-3 

When turnovers are tied: 0-0 

When leading in field-goal percentage: 9-1

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 2-3 

When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-0 

When leading in three-point percentage: 7-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 4-2 

When three-point percentage is tied: 0-1

When leading in rebounding: 10-0 

When trailing in rebounding: 1-4 

When rebounding is tied: 0-0 

When leading in assists: 8-1 

When trailing in assists: 3-3 

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).  

Donnie Bostwick is in the eighth season of his second tenure as head coach of the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles and has guided the program to the NAIA National Tournament each season since returning and the past three KCAC regular season championships. Last season, Bostwick guided the Eagles to both the KCAC regular season and tournament titles along with an appearance in the NAIA National Championship Round of 16.

In the 2021-22 campaign, Bostwick also led the team to a KCAC tournament title and a berth in the NAIA National Championship quarterfinals.

In his first year back at the helm in the 2017-18 season, Bostwick guided the Eagles to an NAIA national quarterfinal berth, a KCAC tournament championship and a 26-9 overall record.

Bostwick previously served four seasons as head coach at Southwestern Assemblies of God University, where he led SAGU to an NAIA Division I National Championship game appearance in 2013.  In his first run at OKWU, Bostwick guided the Eagles to a NAIA Division II national championship in 2009.

Up Next: The Falcons will wrap up their three-game homestand next Wednesday night (Jan. 15) with another big conference matchup with Southwestern College. Tip-off will be at 8 pm inside the Garvey Center.