The Lowdown: University of Saint Mary at (RV) Friends University

* KCAC Postseason Tournament Semifinal

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Mar. 1 @ 2 pm

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Flying with the Falcons: The (RV) Friends University Falcons used a big second half surge to pull away for a 102-78 win over the McPherson College Bulldogs for their fifth straight victory to advance to Saturday's KCAC semifinal round vs the University of Saint Mary. The second seeded Falcons are now 23-6 overall on the season. Read the full recap vs. McPherson HERE!

KJ Spiller leads Friends and is fifth in the KCAC in scoring (17.1 ppg) and is tied for the team lead in rebounding (5.9 rpg). Cahlese Lee (12.8 ppg), Randy Woolf, Jr. (10.9 ppg) and Ring Deng (10.2 ppg) are also scoring in double-figures to give the Falcons a balanced offensive attack.

Woolf, Jr. is tops on the Falcons and fourth in the KCAC with 4.0 assists per game, with Deng recording a team-leading 1.6 steals and also averaging 5.9 rebounds.  Lee has been proficient from beyond the arc, ranking fifth in the league in three-point percentage (43.3).

Scouting the Spires: The third seeded University of Saint Mary Spires also enter the KCAC semifinal matchup on a five game winning streak and are 20-9 overall.

Jordan Brown leads five Spires in double-figure scoring with 16.1 ppg.  Damare Smith (14.3 ppg), Joey Schultz (12.1 ppg), Kaeden Bonner (11.5 ppg) and Bryce Johnson are also scoring in double-digits this season for the Spires. Johnson leads the Spires in assists (2.8 apg) and Jason Parson II is tops on the team in rebounding (6.2 rpg).

The Series: The Falcons knocked off the Spires 74-64 at home in the lone regular season meeting this year. Friends is 30-14 against Saint Mary since the 2004-05 season, with an 18-5 mark in Wichita.  

Quoting head coach Phil McClintock:      

"We are looking forward to hosting the semifinal game in the Conference Tournament on Saturday. Saint Mary's is playing very well and will be a tough opponent, as everyone is this deep in the postseason. We will prepare our guys and continue to try to take it day by day as we have all year and hope it leads to a victory."

Top of the League: The Falcons' most wins in six years has resulted in elite recognition within the KCAC, highlighted by head coach Phil McClintock being named the KCAC Coach of the Year and KJ Spiller selected as KCAC Co-Player of the Year. Randy Woolf, Jr., Cahlese Lee and Ring Deng also earned all-conference recognition. Read the full release HERE!

Championship Appearance: The Falcons will make their first KCAC postseason tournament championship appearance in a decade if they're able to upend Saint Mary in the semifinals. The Falcons defeated Sterling College 74-69 in the title game in the 2014-15 season.

Postseason Breakthrough: The Falcons' 102-78 KCAC quarterfinal win over McPherson College Wednesday night was the program's first postseason victory since winning 84-67 over the University of Saint Mary in the 2018-19 season.

80 is a Serious Number: When the Falcons reach at least the 80-point mark, they've won all 15 games, compared to an 8-6 mark when failing to score at least 80. On the other end, the Falcons are 19-2 when holding the opposition below 80 points but have split eight games that the opposing team gets at least 80 points.

Glass House: The Falcons have won all 19 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 17 of 18 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 20-3 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: 23-6

KCAC: 18-4 

Home: 10-4 

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: 7-0 

When allowing: 

Under 50 points: 

50-59 points: 3-0 

60-69 points: 7-0 

70-79 points: 9-2 

80-89 points: 4-4

90+ points: 0-0 

When leading at halftime: 17-1 

When trailing at halftime: 5-4

When tied at halftime: 1-1 

When committing fewer turnovers: 12-3

When committing more turnovers: 9-3 

When turnovers are tied: 2-0 

When leading in field-goal percentage: 20-3

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 3-3 

When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-0 

When leading in three-point percentage: 16-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 7-4 

When three-point percentage is tied: 0-1

When leading in rebounding: 19-0 

When trailing in rebounding: 4-6 

When rebounding is tied: 0-0 

When leading in assists: 17-1 

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 brought 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.

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: With a victory over Saint Mary on Saturday, the Falcons would advance to the KCAC championship game Monday night (Mar. 3) against the winner of first-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University and fourth-seeded Bethel College.  The higher seed would host the title game.