WICHITA, Kan. – The (RV) Friends University Falcons marched on in the KCAC Tournament with a 102-78 drubbing of the seventh-seeded McPherson College Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round tonight (Feb. 26) inside the Garvey Center. It's the Falcons first KCAC tourney victory since winning 84-67 over their next opponent, the University of Saint Mary Spires in the 2018-19 season.
A Deng Surge: The first 12 minutes of action was close until the Falcons delivered an uppercut with a 10-0 spurt that turned a 21-17 lead into a more comfortable 31-17 cushion at the 5:13 mark of the first half. Ring Deng was huge on both ends during that spurt, assisting on a score by KJ Spiller, hitting two buckets and recording a steal. That gave the Falcons the separation needed to expand to a 49-29 lead at the break.
Swift Response: After the Bulldogs showed signs of getting back into it early in the second half by cutting the lead to 15, the Falcons quickly shut things down with a score by Cahlese Lee and five straight points from Spiller that stretched the edge back to 22. The Falcons had it on cruise control from that point, never letting the lead dip below 18 and later getting a three by Lee and five straight points from Al Emerllahu to gain their largest lead of the night at 92-65 with 4:18 left.
No Time Like the Present: Emerllahu came off the bench and scored a season-high 17 points, including multiple dunks off fast break opportunities.
Consistent Efficiency: A common theme in the Falcons' remarkable season has been the shooting efficiency, and that played out again tonight as Friends shot 54.5 percent (42-of-77) from the field. It's the 17th time this season the Falcons have shot at least 50 percent from the floor. The Falcons are the top shooting team in the KCAC this season at 50.5 percent overall.
Helping Hand: A big key to the Falcons' efficient offense was ball movement that led to solid looks at the bucket. The Falcons recorded 27 assists as a team, tied for their second highest output of the season.
McClintock on tonight's postseason victory over the Bulldogs: "I thought our guys really competed on both ends tonight. We were able to stretch the lead in the first half. Our starters played with high intensity and our bench guys stepped up and made shots as well. Huge night for Al with 17 points. Proud of the guys and we look forward to playing Saturday at home."
Up Next: The second-seeded Falcons, now 23-6 on the season, will collide with the third-seeded University of Saint Mary Spires in the KCAC semifinals Saturday afternoon (Mar. 1) at 2 pm inside the Garvey Center. The Falcons bested the Spires 74-64 in Wichita in the lone matchup this season between the two schools.
Falcons' Top Performers
KJ Spiller – 21 points, five rebounds, four assists
Al Emerllahu – 17 points
Collin Maclin – 12 points, seven assists (career-high)
Ring Deng – 12 points, five rebounds, four steals
Cahlese Lee – 12 points
Randy Woolf, Jr. – 10 rebounds, seven assists (both tie his previous career-high)
Bulldogs Top Performers
Curtis Rose – 17 points
Charles Snyder – 16 points, 14 rebounds
Collin Storr – 11 points, nine rebounds
Tarrance Austin – 11 points
