KCAC

[Men's Basketball] MBB Gameday Preview: Falcons look to sustain momentum in tomorrow's home …

The Lowdown: University of Saint Mary at Friends UniversityLocation: Garvey CenterWhen: Saturday, Jan. 8 @ 7 pmBroadcast and Live Stats: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons were victorious for the second straight game in winning 77-66 Thursday night (Jan. 5) over the Tabor College Bluejays in Hillsboro, Kan. The Falcons started quick and never looked back, scoring 11 of the game's first 12 points in the wire-to-wire win.  Friends is now 5-11 overall and is tied for the eighth spot in the KCAC with a 4-6 league mark.Tim Barbieri (JR/Abilene,Kan. ) led all scorers with a career-high 20 points on an extremely efficient 10-of-11 shooting from the field while also pulling down a team-high eight rebounds for the Falcons.Drew Patterson (FR/Charlotte, NC) also got in the act, scoring a career-best 18 points and hitting 7-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the perimeter. Reid added 17 points and three assists for the Falcons along with reaching his career-high of seven boards for the second straight game.Connor Kern (FR/Prosper, Texas) had six blocks, the most in a single game for the Falcons since the 2016-17 season (12, Kaleb Ratliff).Ian Konek (JR/Long Beach, Calif.) is tops on the Falcons and fifth in the KCAC in scoring with 16.9 ppg. Konek also leads the Falcons in rebounds (5.3 rpg) and Trey Reid (FR/Wichita, Kan. ) is averaging double-figure scoring with 12.3 ppg along with a team-best 2.4 assists per game. Drew Patterson is also fifth in the league in three-point percentage (45.5).Scouting the Spires: The University of Saint Mary Spires have had an up-and-down season thus far, as they've lost four of their last five games after winning three straight that preceded a four-game losing skid. The Spires are 7-9 overall and one game behind the Falcons in the KCAC standings at 3-7.The Spires are led by Diego Lucas's team-leading 14.8 points per game and 2.5 assists per game, while Brad Hailey has a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game.     The Series: The Falcons are 13-5 in the past 18 matchups vs. Saint Mary after winning on the road 81-73 in the only matchup last season. Friends has also won the past nine outings at home, with the Spires' last win in Wichita coming in the 2012-13 season.     Quoting Head Coach Austin McBeth:"Saturday is a big one for us in many ways. Coming off our first road win as a team makes this game very important for momentum. Coach (Troy) Brown has a great team with length, athleticism, and a guard who can really get it going. I'm glad we'll get to play them at home the first time around!"Make or Miss League: Sometimes the game of basketball is as simple as just making more shots than the team you're playing against.  That's been the case this season for the Friends University Men's Basketball Falcons, who have emerged victorious on five of the six occasions they've led in field-goal percentage, but are winless all 10 times that the opposition shoots better from the floor.Sponsor Alerts: Friends University Athletics is excited to have Home2 Suites by Hilton back as an official athletic sponsor this season! For more on what they can offer, click HERE to visit their official webpage.Friends University Athletics also welcomes Phoenix Home Care and Hospice as a sponsor this season! For more info on what they can provide, click HERE.Tickets: Fans are able to tickets all home basketball games by clicking HERE.Falcons by the Numbers:When scoring:                                             Under 50 points: 0-050-59 points: 0-260-69 points: 0-670-79 points: 2-380-89 points: 1-090+ points:  2-0When allowing:Under 50 points:50-59 points: 0-060-69 points: 2-070-79 points: 2-680-89 points: 1-590+ points: 0-0When leading at halftime: 5-3When trailing at halftime: 0-8When tied at halftime: 0-0When committing more turnovers: 5-10When committing fewer turnovers: 0-0When turnovers are tied: 0-1When leading in field-goal percentage: 5-1When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-10When leading in three-point percentage: 5-5When trailing in three-point percentage: 0-6When leading in rebounding: 4-4When trailing in rebounding: 1-7When leading in assists: 5-3When trailing in assists: 0-8In OT: 0-0The Coaches:Austin McBeth is in his first season as head coach of the Friends University men's basketball program.McBeth arrived at Friends following a highly successful stint as the head assistant coach at NCAA D-II Truman State University of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).Serving as the recruiting coordinator for Truman State, McBeth was at the heart of a team that won the GLVC regular-season championship and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA D-II National Tournament.At Truman, McBeth also served in roles as the director of strength and conditioning, academic advisor for "at-risk" players, summer camp director, director of community service while being heavily involved in fundraising and skill development for guards and post players.McBeth's coaching experience includes head assistant coaching stops at the University of Illinois-Springfield, also of the GLVC and NAIA program Montreat College in Black Mountain, NC.He was also a part of his alma mater team, the Iowa State University men's basketball program under head coach Fred Hoiberg, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.McBeth was a Volunteer GA Assistant Coach at ISU in 2013 and served as a camp instructor for the Cyclones in the summer of 2012.Off the court, McBeth is the perfect fit for the Friends University Christian mission, having served as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) President at Iowa State while also filling the role of an FCA Co-Sponsor at Iowa State, Montreat and Illinois-Springfield. In addition, he has authored two books on coaching philosophies and the important role that coaches play in the lives of athletes.Troy Brown is in his eighth 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 13-5 KCAC mark.  Brown was then named the permanent head coach in March of 2015 and promptly led the Spires to three consecutive third-place conference finishes.  Prior to that, Brown was an assistant coach at USM for three seasons.Brown also played collegiately for 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: The Falcons will face a stern road test at No. 19-ranked Kansas Wesleyan University Monday night (Jan. 10) at 8 pm in Salina, Kan.