KCAC

[Men's Basketball] Men's Basketball Falcons embark on winning streak with 77-66 victory at Tabor

Hillsboro, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons won their second straight game by knocking off the Tabor College Bluejays 77-66 tonight (Jan. 5) in Hillsboro, Kan.The Falcons started fasted and never looked back, scoring 11 of the game's first 12 points and building a 13-4 edge within the first five minutes of action.Trey Reid (FR/Wichita, Kan. ) helped the Falcons continue to separate with seven straight points before assisting on a jump shot by Ian Konek (JR/Long Beach, Calif.) that stretched the lead up to 22-8.With the lead at 26-14, the Bluejays made a push behind threes from Lonnie Langston, Leon Marcikic and Jakim Ricketts to charge within three at the 7:48 mark of the opening half.The Bluejays then twice cut the lead to two before a timely five-point run by Semaj Edwards (FR/Lanham, Md. ) pushed the edge back to seven late in the half.A halftime buzzer-beating jumper by Reid gave the Falcons a 41-34 lead at the break.Drew Patterson (FR/Charlotte, NC) then opened the second half much like he did in the opening stanza by connecting from beyond the arc to balloon the Falcons' edge back into double-figures.The Falcons had to stave off the Bluejays from that point, as Tabor clawed within five points on three occasions. But each time the Falcons had a response, as Tim Barbieri (JR/Abilene,Kan. ) hit a jumper to begin a critical 8-0 spurt that extended the lead to its highest point since the 11:28 mark of the first half.The Falcons kept the Bluejays at bay down the stretch, never letting the lead dip below eight points for the remainder of the contest."I'm extremely proud of our guys effort tonight," said Friends men's basketball head coach Austin McBeth. "Our defensive intensity started with Alex Gray taking three charges in the first half, and ended with Connor Kern (FR/Prosper, Texas) having six blocks.  Our chemistry is improving and we're trusting in each other more every day. Great start to 2022!"Barbieri 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 (5-11, 4-6 KCAC).Patterson 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.Kern's six swats are a career-high and represent the most blocks in a single-game for the Falcons since the 2016-17 season (12, Kaleb Ratliff). Marcikic scored 13 points to lead the Bluejays (4-8, 2-8 KCAC), with Jack Taylor and Austin Hilton chipping in with 11 points. Bruno Araujo led Tabor with eight rebounds and Langston recorded a game-high six assists.The overall rebounds were even at 34-34, but the Falcons held an 11-7 edge in second chance points despite being out-rebounded 12-4 on the offensive glass. Friends also outscored the Bluejays by a whopping 40-16 in the paint.The Falcons were solid from the field all night, hitting 55.8 percent (29-of-52) overall that included a blazing 61.9 percent clip in the second half.Next up for the Falcons is a matchup with the University of Saint Mary coming up on Saturday night (Jan. 8) at 7 pm inside the Garvey Center.