WICHITA, Kan. - The No. 16-ranked and second-seeded Friends University Falcons survived a thrilling KCAC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup Thursday night (Feb. 26), holding off the seventh-seeded University of Saint Mary Spires, 95-94.
The Falcons came out strong, establishing early control by dominating the paint with 16 first-half points while holding Saint Mary to just six inside. Friends shot an impressive 66.7 percent from the field and capitalized at the free-throw line, knocking down 14 of 16 attempts before halftime.
The Spires, however, were efficient offensively as well, keeping themselves within striking distance throughout the half. Randy Woolf, Jr. led the way with 16 first-half points, while Cahlese Lee added 12 and Eli Benning contributed 10 to help power Friends to a 52–44 halftime advantage.
Friends quickly extended its advantage to 12 points in the opening minute of the second half, but Saint Mary refused to fade. The Spires trimmed the deficit to 60-57 with 16 minutes remaining and continued to battle back each time the Falcons stretched the lead to double digits. With less than a minute to play, Saint Mary knotted the score at 94-94.
In the closing seconds, Ringo Deng made the game's decisive play for the Falcons. After a Spires missed layup that could have given them the lead, he secured a crucial defensive rebound, was fouled on the play, and sank what would prove to be the game-winning free throw with five seconds remaining, giving Friends a 95–94 lead. Saint Mary's final attempt fell short, sealing the Falcons' victory and sending Friends to the KCAC Tournament semifinals.
Randy Woolf, Jr. led Friends with 29 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including four three-pointers, and went a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line. He added four rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal. Cahlese Lee contributed 20 points, connecting on four three-pointers while pulling down eight rebounds and recording two steals. Eli Benning posted a career- and season-high 16 points, along with seven assists, five rebounds, and a steal. Al Emerllahu contributed eight points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting performance and added four rebounds, while Devin Davis provided a spark off the bench with 10 points and five rebounds.
As a team, Friends shot 56.4 percent from the field (31-of-55), 42.9 percent from three-point range (9-of-21), and 82.8 percent from the free-throw line (24-of-29). The Falcons outrebounded the Spires 35-26, dished out 17 assists, and dominated the paint 36-14. Their steady free-throw shooting down the stretch proved pivotal.
Friends advances to the KCAC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday (Feb. 28). The Falcons will host the sixth-seeded Evangel Valor at 7:00 p.m. inside the Garvey Center.
