WICHITA, Kan. — The (RV) Friends University Falcons used a big second half to turn a close game at halftime into a resounding 94-60 victory over Haskell Indian Nations University to hand head coach
Nick Jones his first career win on the first day of the Jack Kater Classic tonight (Oct. 30) inside the Garvey Center.
Friends responded from a late 31-27 deficit by scoring the final six points of the first half, with
Eli Benning scoring inside,
KJ Kelley hitting a 3-pointer and Benning then nailing one free throw for a 33-31 lead at the break.
After a three-pointer by Parker Baumann temporarily put Haskell back in front to start the second half, Benning scored to put the Falcons on top to stay and then found
Deshaun Lewis for a crowd-pleading alley-oop in the midst of a 19-4 stretch that gave Friends a commanding 52-38 lead.
The Falcons continued to surge and kept widening the gap with 9-0 and 10-0 runs, shooting 25-for-34 in the half and scoring 17 points off turnovers to coast to the victory.
The final 34-point margin of victory represented the Falcons' biggest lead of the night.
"In the first half they made some tough shots, but we picked it up," Jones commented after picking up his first career victory as a head coach. "I challenged them at halftime and they took the challenge and you could see it in the second half."
The Falcons will wrap up the Jack Kater Classic tomorrow (Oct. 31) against John Brown University, who defeated Ottawa University 91-58 earlier tonight. Tip-off vs. JBU is set for 3 pm.
Friends Top Performers
Deshaun Lewis
----------------------
- 19 points
- 8/15 field goals made
- 9 rebounds
Trey Knight
----------------------
- 17 points
- 7/11 field goals made
- 2 steals
Eli Benning
----------------------
- 12 points
- 6 assists
- 5 rebounds
Isaac Jones
----------------------
- 13 points
- 2/5 3-pointers made
- 2 steals
Jackson Swartz
----------------------
- 8 rebounds
- 3 assists
- 2 steals
Haskell Top Performers
Parker Baumann
----------------------
- 19 points
- 7 field goals made
- 4 3-pointers made
- 2 steals
Zi White Woman
----------------------
- 13 points
- 6/7 field goals made
- 4 rebounds
- 3 assists
