The Lowdown: Southwestern College at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Wednesday, Jan. 15 @ 8 pm

Broadcast

Live Stats

Tickets

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons fought off the No. 24-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles 88-82 Saturday (Jan. 11) to secure their best 10-game conference start in a decade. The Falcons are now 12-4 overall and in second place in the KCAC with an 8-2 conference mark. Read the full recap vs. OKWU HERE! 

KJ Spiller leads Friends with 16.3 ppg along with a team-leading 6.4 rebounds per game. Cahlese Lee (12.4 ppg) and Randy Woolf, Jr. (10.3 ppg) are also scoring in double-figures this season to give the Falcons a balanced offensive attack. Wolf, Jr. has dished out a team-leading 4.1 assists that ranks third in the KCAC, with Lee recording a team-leading 1.6 steals.

Scouting the Builders: The Southwestern College Moundbuilders are 12-5 on the season and tied for the sixth spot in the KCAC at 5-5 in the league.

Southwestern has five players averaging in double-figures, led by Wyatt Bell's 18.5 ppg. Evan Barber is second in scoring with 13.4 ppg and leads the team with 3.4 assists. Justin Demaria is averaging 11.9 ppg and Trey Abasolo is next with 10.7 ppg, while Zach Hidalgo rounds out the Builders in double-digit scoring at 10.3 ppg along with a KCAC-leading 12.3 rebounds a game.

The Series: The Builders swept the season series last year and have won four straight overall over the Falcons. Friends is 22-24 vs. Southwestern since 2005, with a 14-10 mark in Wichita during that stretch.   

Quoting head coach Phil McClintock:      

"Southwestern is another perennial KCAC powerhouse coming to the Garvey Center. They are well balanced, guard very well, and are the best rebounding team we have faced. It will take everything we have to compete tonight, but we are excited for the challenge."

Votes are in: The Falcons are receiving votes in this week's NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll! Check the full rankings HERE!

A Decade in the Making: With Saturday's victory over Oklahoma Wesleyan, the Falcons moved to 8-2 in the KCAC for the program's best 10-game conference start in a decade.

Defensive Prowess: Helping the Falcons get off to their best 10-game conference start in a decade was Randy Woolf, Jr., who flashed his defensive ability with averages of 2.5 steals, one block and seven defensive rebounds per game. Read the full release HERE!

KAKE Coverage: Noah Sacco of KAKE News was on campus Monday for a feature on the Falcons' historic conference start, check out the story and video coverage HERE!

Twice in a Blue Moon: The Falcons won for just the second time this season when trailing in rebounding when they defeated No. 24 Oklahoma Wesleyan University 88-82 last Saturday despite OKWU holding a 38-36 edge on the boards.

High-level security: The Falcons are 9-1 when committing fewer turnovers but are 3-3 when losing the turnover battle this season.

Glass House: The Falcons have won all 10 games when leading in rebounding but are just 2-4 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've split six games when trailing at the break.

Straight Shooters: The Falcons are 10-1 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: 12-4

KCAC: 8-2 

Home: 5-2 

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: 5-0 

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: 2-2 

90+ points: 0-0 

When leading at halftime: 9-1 

When trailing at halftime: 3-3

When tied at halftime: 0-0 

When committing fewer turnovers: 9-1 

When committing more turnovers: 3-3 

When turnovers are tied: 0-0 

When leading in field-goal percentage: 10-1

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 2-3 

When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-0 

When leading in three-point percentage: 8-1

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: 2-4 

When rebounding is tied: 0-0 

When leading in assists: 9-1 

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).  

Matt O'Brien is in his 16th season as head coach of the Southwestern College Moundbuilders and is the winningest coach in school history with more than 300 career victories.  Last season, O'Brien led the Builders to their third straight NAIA National Championship Tournament appearance.

O'Brien has now guided Southwestern to 14 straight winning seasons, including a conference regular season championship that earned him KCAC Coach of the Year honors in 2018. In that 2017-18 season, O'Brien also led the Builders to a KCAC tournament championship, and a No. 6 ranking in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

Before arriving at Southwestern, O'Brien was the head coach at Central Christian College and an assistant coach at Friends University for seven seasons.  Three of O'Brien's seven seasons at Friends came under former Falcon head coach and current Friends University Assistant AD of Development Dale Faber.   

Up Next: The Falcons will make the trek to Lindsborg, Kan. to face the Bethany College Swedes Saturday evening (Jan. 18) at 7 pm.