OTTAWA, Kan. - The No. 17 Friends University Falcons delivered their third straight 90-plus point performance in a 96-84 road victory over the Ottawa University Braves. The win was fueled by a career performance from Collin Maclin, who poured in a career-high 35 points while surpassing the 1,000 career points mark. Four additional Falcons reached double figures in the victory.
The game remained tightly contested early, with neither side able to create separation. That changed midway through the first half when Maclin caught fire. With under 10 minutes remaining, he scored seven consecutive points for the Falcons to spark momentum and push his first-half total to 14. Friends led 33-29 with just under eight minutes to play before halftime, then erupted on a 12-0 run to extend the advantage to 45-29 over the Ottawa. Behind 24 first-half points from Maclin, the Falcons carried a 55-41 lead into the break.
Friends picked up where they left off to open the second half, pushing the lead to 19 less than three minutes in. Ottawa responded with a 12-0 run of its own, trimming the deficit to 67-60 with 10 minutes remaining. The Falcons weathered the surge and regained control, pushing the lead back to 17 after a Ringo Deng and-one with under three minutes to play. Friends closed out the game from there to secure the 96-84 win and extend its winning streak to three games.
Maclin led the way as five Falcons scored in double figures, pouring in 35 points on an efficient 72.2 percent shooting (13-of-18 from the field). He knocked down 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line, while adding eight rebounds, three assists, and a block.
Cahlese Lee contributed 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Randy Woolf, Jr. added 12 points, five assists, four rebounds, and a block. Eli Benning finished with 11 points, five assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
Owen Evans made an impact off the bench, tallying 12 points behind four three-pointers and adding five rebounds and a steal.
As a team, Friends shot 57.8 percent from the floor (37-of-64), 52 percent from three-point range (13-of-25), and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line (9-of-11). The Falcons assisted on 21 of their 37 made field goals, scored 44 points in the paint, and outrebounded Ottawa 36-28.
With the victory, Friends improves to 19-5 overall and 14-4 in KCAC play. The Falcons return to the Garvey Center to begin a three-game home slate Wednesday night (Feb. 11) against the Sterling College Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
