Winfield, Kan. – The (RV) Friends University Falcons recorded a thrilling 78-77 victory at the Southwestern College Moundbuilders in a KCAC matchup tonight (Feb. 19) in Winfield, Kan. With the win, the Falcons are now one half game behind KCAC front-runner Oklahoma Wesleyan University, who plays tomorrow night at Evangel University.
Below are the top takeaways from tonight's big Falcon win:
Resiliency: When a team leads by as much as 16 and then loses the lead late, it's often hard to maintain composure and find a way to win. But that's precisely what the Falcons were forced to do tonight, as the Builders clawed back from down 68-52 to take a 75-74 lead on a score by Wyatt Bell with 1:40 left. Randy Woolf, Jr. then hit two free throws to put Friends back on top and Cahlese Lee added two of his 26 points for a 78-75 lead with 15 seconds left. The game would still come down to the final seconds, with Bell hitting two of his three free-throw attempts to make it a one-point game. After Ring Deng missed a free-throw attempt, Trey Abasolo misfired on a potential game-winning three-point attempt in the final seconds and the Falcons held on for the victory.
Falcon Surges: Trailing by four late in the first half, the Falcons got a three from Collin Maclin and a three-point play by Deng to spark a 7-0 run to end the first half. Then with the lead at two early in the second half, two threes by Lee ignited a 20-9 spurt that gave the Falcons its largest lead of the night with 11:14 left.
Another efficient night: The Falcons enjoyed another efficient game offensively, shooting 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field. That marks the 15th game this season the Falcons have shot at least 50 percent from the floor.
Streak Over: The Falcons' win tonight snapped a five-game losing streak overall vs. the Builders, who also won this season's first matchup 80-68 in Wichita (Jan. 15).
Head Coach Phil McClintock on tonight's win: "This was another big road win for us tonight. Southwestern has always been such a tough place to win so I was really proud of our guys and how we competed throughout the whole game. KJ (Spiller) was sick tonight and limited in minutes but Josh (Price) and Dannon (Lundy) stepped up in extended minutes. Proud of the team and now will get to work prepping for Bethany."
Up Next: The Falcons will host Bethany College for Senior Day Saturday evening (Feb. 22) at 5 pm inside the Garvey Center to wrap up the regular season.
Falcons' Top Performers
Cahlese Lee (26 points, career-high tying six threes)
Ring Deng (18 points, eight rebounds, two blocks)
Collin Maclin (12 points, seven rebounds)
Randy Woolf, Jr. (11 points, six rebounds, four assists)
Builders' Top Performers
Zach Hidalgo (15 points, 14 rebounds)
Justin Demaria (17 points)
Evan Barber (12 points, six assists)
Austin Hilton (12 points)
