KCAC

[Men's Basketball] Bethany pulls away late from short-handed Falcons

WICHITA, Kan. – Missing multiple players in health and safety protocols, the Friends University Falcons scrapped and fought to the end, but the Bethany College Swedes found a way to pull away late and hold on for an 88-75 win in a KCAC matchup today (Jan. 15) inside the Garvey Center.With only six available players at tip-off and two seeing their first-ever varsity action, the Falcons stayed close and eventually took their first lead of the day on a three-point play by Ian Konek (JR/Long Beach, Calif.) that made it 49-48 with 14:12 remaining.Following a see-saw five minute sequence that featured seven lead changes, a basket inside by Solomon Clayton put the Swedes ahead to stay at the 9:47 mark of the second half.That score resulted in a turning point, as Clayton then scored 11 more points of a 15-4 surge that gave the Swedes a double-figure lead of 75-65 with 5:20 left.The Falcons refused to go quietly and came within seven on three occasions down the stretch, but consecutive scores from Malcolm Clayton and Solomon Clayton stretched the lead back to 11 with 1:46 remaining.Bethany jumped out to a quick 13-4 lead in the game's opening six minutes, only to have Drew Patterson (FR/Charlotte, NC) bring the Falcons back in it with three straight treys to tie the score.After the Swedes pushed the lead back to seven, four points from Konek and a three-point play by Darryon Frierson (FR/Wichita, Kan. ) cut the deficit down to just two at 28-26 at the 5:40 mark of the opening half.The Swedes remained on top and built a seven-point edge twice more in the half before five late points from Konek pulled the Falcons within 42-40 at the break. Despite being out-shot 53 percent (35-of-66) to just 32.2 percent (19-of-59) overall from the field, Patterson and Konek gave the Falcons a fighting chance to pull out the victory.Patterson caught fire for a career-high 33 points while hitting a career-high tying 6-of-14 from three-point distance. Konek hit 13-of-14 at the charity stripe and wound up with 28 points along with a game-high 10 rebounds for Friends.Frierson had an active stat line of eight boards, three steals and three blocks, while Trajan Turk scored seven in his first career game. Chai Savage also had a pair of assists in his first-ever varsity outing for the Falcons (6-14, 5-9 KCAC).Solomon Clayton (31 points, six rebounds) and Malcolm Clayton (22 points, six rebounds) fueled the Swedes attack. Dylan Smith added 10 points and recorded six assists for Bethany (14-6, 10-4 KCAC).  The Falcons outrebounded the Swedes 39-37 overall and 13-7 on the offensive glass that led to a 12-10 edge in second chance points. Bethany though outscored the Falcons 34-18 in the paint.Next up, the Falcons will travel to North Newton, Kan. to face the (RV) Bethel College Threshers Wednesday night (Jan. 19) at 8 pm. Friends got the best of then No 12-ranked Bethel 78-72 in the first meeting this season inside the Garvey Center.