The Lowdown: Bethany College at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Feb. 22 @ 5 pm

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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons went into Winfield, Kan. and avenged an earlier season loss to the Southwestern College Moundbuilders with a thrilling 78-77 victory. The Falcons are now 21-6 overall and one game behind conference front runner Oklahoma Wesleyan University at 17-4 in the league. Read the full recap at Southwestern HERE!

KJ Spiller leads Friends in both scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg) this season. Cahlese Lee (13.1 ppg) and Randy Woolf, Jr. (10.7 ppg) are also scoring in double-figures to give the Falcons a balanced offensive attack.

Woolf, Jr. is tops on the Falcons and tied for fourth in the KCAC with 3.8 assists per game, with Ring Deng recording a team-leading 1.5 steals.  Lee has also been proficient from beyond the arc, ranking tied for fourth in the league in three-point percentage (44.2).

Scouting the Swedes: The Bethany College Swedes are 12-14 overall and 9-12 in the KCAC but have won their last two outings at home vs. Evangel University and Kansas Wesleyan University.

Emmanuel Akpan has powered the Swedes this season and is first on the team and third in the KCAC in both points (18.1 ppg) and rebounds (9.5 rpg). JR Cison (16.6 ppg) and Kenny Haynes (13.4 ppg) are also averaging double-figure scoring while Devin Spencer (4.2 apg) and Kendall Collins (3.8 apg) have been the leading distributors for Bethany.

The Series: The Falcons won 89-68 in Lindsborg, Kan. in this season's first matchup and have now won three of the last four in the series. Friends also won at home last season over Bethany after dropping two straight in Wichita.

Quoting head coach Phil McClintock:      

"We are excited about our final game of the regular season and being able to celebrate our Seniors. KJ (Spiller), Josh (Price) and Santi (Vargas) have all made contributions to the program in their own ways and we are excited to recognize them with great energy and effort."

Deng He's Defensive: Ring Deng was named the KCAC Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week on Monday (Feb. 17) after averaging 5.5 defensive rebounds, two steals and one block in two Falcon victories. Read the full release HERE!

Share and Share Alike: Three of the KCAC leaders in assists will be on display when the Falcons clash with the Swedes today. Bethany's Devin Spencer is third in the league with 4.2 assists, followed closely behind by the Falcons' Randy Woolf, Jr. and the Swedes' Kendall Collings in a tie for fourth with 3.8 apg.

Glass House: The Falcons have won all 17 games when leading in rebounding but are just 4-6 when the opposition controls the boards.

Half Good: When taking a lead into the locker room this season, the Falcons have won 15 of 16 games. But they're a modest 5-4 when trailing at the break while splitting two games that were tied at the half.

Straight Shooters: The Falcons are 18-3 when outshooting the opposition from the field but are 3-3 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.

Kansas Army National Guard: We are thrilled to have the Kansas Army National Guard on board with us this year as an official sponsor! Click HERE to visit their website.

Falcons by the Numbers: 

Overall record: 21-6

KCAC: 17-4 

Home: 8-4 

Road: 11-2

Neutral: 2-0 

When scoring:                                              

Under 50 points: 0-0 

50-59 points: 0-1 

60-69 points: 0-2

70-79 points: 8-3 

80-89 points: 8-0 

90+ points: 5-0 

When allowing: 

Under 50 points: 

50-59 points: 3-0 

60-69 points: 7-0 

70-79 points: 8-2 

80-89 points: 3-4

90+ points: 0-0 

When leading at halftime: 15-1 

When trailing at halftime: 5-4

When tied at halftime: 1-1 

When committing fewer turnovers: 11-3

When committing more turnovers: 8-3 

When turnovers are tied: 2-0 

When leading in field-goal percentage: 18-3

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 3-3 

When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-0 

When leading in three-point percentage: 14-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 7-4 

When three-point percentage is tied: 0-1

When leading in rebounding: 17-0 

When trailing in rebounding: 4-6 

When rebounding is tied: 0-0 

When leading in assists: 15-1 

When trailing in assists: 5-5

When assists are tied: 1-0 

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).  

Maverick Harris is in his first season as head coach of the Bethany College men's basketball team after serving as the assistant coach last year.

Before arriving at Bethany, Harris had coaching stops at NCAA Division II schools Salem University (W.Va.) and Bemidji State University and Minot State University of the Northen Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Harris played collegiately at Northland College in Ashland, Wis.

Up Next: The Falcons have clinched at least the second seed in the upcoming KCAC postseason tournament and will host a quarterfinal round matchup Wednesday night (Feb. 26) at 7 pm inside the Garvey Center. Opponent is TBA, but if the current standings hold Friends would square off against McPherson College.