The Lowdown: University of Saint Mary at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Wednesday, Jan. 29 @ 8 pm

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Flying with the Falcons: KJ Spiller drilled a jumper with 2.2 seconds left to propel the Friends University Falcons to an exciting 82-80 victory at the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes and into a tie for first place in the KCAC Saturday night (Jan. 25) in Salina, Kan. The win is the Falcons' third straight and runs their overall record to 15-5 overall and 11-3 in the KCAC.  Read the full recap vs. KWU HERE!

Spiller leads Friends with 16.8 ppg along with a team-leading 6.4 rebounds per game. Cahlese Lee (12.5 ppg) and Randy Woolf, Jr. (10.9 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 3.7 assists, with Lee recording a team-leading 1.5 steals and ranking fourth in the KCAC in three-point percentage (44.2).

Scouting the Spires: The University of Saint Mary Spires have lost two straight games to fall into a three-way tie for the top spot in the KCAC with Friends and (RV) Oklahoma Wesleyan University at 11-3 in the league.

The Spires are now 14-6 overall and feature five players in double figure scoring, led by Jordan Brown's 15.4 ppg. Damare Smith is scoring 14.3 ppg, followed by Bryce Johnson at 12.7 ppg with a team-leading 3.3 assists per game. Joey Schultz (12.2 ppg) and Kaeden Bonner (11.4 ppg) are also averaging double-digit scoring, while Jason Parson II leads the Spires with six rebounds a game.

The Series: The Falcons split the season series last year vs. the Spires, with each team winning at home. Friends is 29-14 against Saint Mary since the 2004-05 season, with a 17-5 mark in Wichita.     

Quoting head coach Phil McClintock:      

"We are excited to host Saint Mary tomorrow. They have had a great year and Coach Brown will have them ready to play. We have had a good few days of preparation so far and expect our guys to be up to the challenge on Wednesday."

80 is a Serious Number: The Falcons are undefeated in the 12 games they've scored at least 80 points but are 3-5 when failing to reach the 80-point mark.

Glass House: The Falcons have won all 13 games when leading in rebounding but are just 2-5 when the opposition controls the boards.

Half Good: When taking a lead into the locker room this season, the Falcons have won 11 of 12 games. But they've gone 3-4 when trailing at the break and won the only time the game was tied at the half.

Straight Shooters: The Falcons are 13-2 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: 15-5

KCAC: 11-3 

Home: 6-3 

Road: 7-2

Neutral: 2-0 

When scoring:                                              

Under 50 points: 0-0 

50-59 points: 0-1 

60-69 points: 0-2

70-79 points: 3-2 

80-89 points: 8-0 

90+ points: 4-0 

When allowing: 

Under 50 points: 

50-59 points: 3-0 

60-69 points: 4-0 

70-79 points: 5-2 

80-89 points: 3-3

90+ points: 0-0 

When leading at halftime: 11-1 

When trailing at halftime: 3-4

When tied at halftime: 1-0 

When committing fewer turnovers: 9-2

When committing more turnovers: 6-3 

When turnovers are tied: 0-0 

When leading in field-goal percentage: 13-2

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 2-3 

When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-0 

When leading in three-point percentage: 10-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 5-3 

When three-point percentage is tied: 0-1

When leading in rebounding: 13-0 

When trailing in rebounding: 2-5 

When rebounding is tied: 0-0 

When leading in assists: 11-1 

When trailing in assists: 4-4

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).  

Troy Brown is in his 11th season as head coach of the University of Saint Mary Spires. Last season, Brown led the Spires to an 18-12 record and a 13-9 mark in the KCAC.

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 make the trek to Kansas City, Mo. to face the Avila University Eagles Saturday afternoon (Feb. 1) at 3 pm.