WICHITA, Kan. -- The Friends University Falcons pulled out a hard-fought 81-78 victory over the Bethel College Threshers in KCAC action tonight (Jan. 22) on FCA Night inside the Garvey Center. The Falcons are now 14-5 overall and tied for second in the KCAC at 10-3 in the league.
In a back-and-forth affair throughout, the Falcons appeared to be in control following two free throws by
Randy Woolf, Jr. that made it a double-digit lead of 76-66 with 1:38 left.
But the Threshers wouldn't go quietly and got a four-point play by Harper Jonas to come within four before rallying within 80-78 on a three by Nick Bonner with 10 seconds left.
After
Ring Deng split a pair at the charity stripe, the Threshers had a chance to tie and send the game into overtime, but a three by Bonner was off the mark as the Falcons held on for the win.
The Falcons were able to jump out to an early 10-3 lead before the Threshers rallied back to tie the score at 16-16.
A 12-4 run gave the Falcons an eight point lead and it remained a seven-point edge at 36-29 when Bethel finished the opening half with the final seven points to create a 36-36 gridlock at the break.
The second half began with Bethel's Eli Wiseman hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to fuel a 13-2 run that put the Threshers up by 11.
Following another three by Wiseman that again put the Threshers up by 11,
Collin Maclin got going and scored eight points to jumpstart a 13-0 spurt that gave the Falcons their first lead of the second half.
Another bucket by Maclin pushed the Falcon lead to six, but treys from Wiseman and Jonas tied the game again at 63-63 with 6:06 left.
The Falcons then had a big response as threes from
KJ Spiller,
Ring Deng and Maclin resulted in a double-figure lead of 74-64.
"I'm proud of the boys for showing toughness and finding a way to win that game," said Friends men's basketball head coach
Phil McClintock. "Bethel punched us in the mouth to start the second half but we were able to chip away and gut it out at the end. Credit to Bethel for playing with such toughness."
Maclin finished with 23 points, just one point shy of his career-high total, which included making 7 of 10 from the field and 3 of 5 3-pointers. He also contributed defensively with two steals. Deng was another key player, contributing 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field, along with seven total rebounds and three assists. Spiller added 13 points and was effective on the glass with a team-best eight rebounds, while
Cahlese Lee showed versatility by leading the team with five assists and pulling down seven boards.
Wiseman helped pace Bethel (12-7, 8-5 KCAC) with 20 points, including five 3-pointers. Bonner also scored 20 points and hit four shots from the perimeter with six assists and three steals. Carmelo Yakubu led the Threshers with five assists, with Jonas and Cade Kittrell chipping in with 11 points.
The Falcons shot an efficient 54 percent (27-of-50) from the field and 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from three-point distance, while limiting Bethel to just 39.4 percent (28-of-71) shooting overall and 35.1 percent (13-of-37) from beyond the arc.
Up next, the Falcons will play at Kansas Wesleyan University Saturday night (Jan. 25) at 8 pm in Salina, Kan.
