[Men's Basketball] MBB Gameday Preview: Falcons tip-off KCAC action tonight at home vs. Bethel
The Lowdown: Bethel College at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Wednesday, Nov. 16 @ 8 pm
Broadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3UFaQvq
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons are 1-4 entering conference action following a heartbreaking 86-84 loss in overtime to the Oklahoma City University Stars last Saturday (Nov. 12). The Falcons led by as much as 19 in the second half, but the Stars slowly chipped away to pull even and then won it in the extra session.
Ian Konek (SR/Long Beach, Calif.) leads the Falcons and is fifth in the KCAC with 18.2 points per game, while newcomer Steve Staco (SO/Orlando, Fla.) is tops on the team and fourth in the league in rebounds (8.2 rpg).
Tim Barbieri (JR/Abilene,Kan. ) is second in both scoring (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.4) for Friends, with Darryon Frierson (SO/Wichita, Kan. ) dishing out a team-high 5.5 assists that ranks fourth in the league.
Scouting the Threshers: The Bethel College Threshers are an even 2-2 on the season heading into KCAC play and have split their past two games, defeating Benedictine (Kan.) 67-59 before falling to Clarke (Iowa) 90-76.
Clifford Byrd II has been the Threshers' top option this season, leading the team in points (16.8 ppg), rebounds (7.0 rpg) and assists (7.3 apg). Byrd II is also tops in the KCAC with 4.3 steals per game. Bryant Mocaby (14.5 ppg) and Harper Jonas (10.8 ppg) are also averaging double-figure scoring this season for Bethel.
The Series: One year after dropping all three meetings to the Threshers, the Falcons upset then No. 12-ranked Bethel 78-72 at home in the first matchup last season. The Threshers then won at home to split the season series last year. Friends has won 13 of the last 19 meetings between the two schools.
Quoting Head Coach Austin McBeth:
"We've had a rough non-conference so far, and we're still figuring out who we are and what we need to do to win basketball games. I'm reminded of this game last year, and how it was our first signature win as a program and I'm hoping our guys who were a part of that game last year will carry that confidence into the game."
Countdown to 1,000: Senior guard Ian Konek currently sits at 903 career points, just 97 away from becoming the 10th member in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone in the modern statistical era (since 2003-04). Konek is averaging a team-high 18.2 points per game this season.
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.
Tickets: Fans are able to tickets all home basketball games by clicking HERE.
Falcons by the Numbers:
Overall record: 1-4
KCAC: 0-0
Home: 1-1
Road: 0-2
Neutral: 0-1
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 0-0
50-59 points: 0-1
60-69 points: 0-1
70-79 points: 0-0
80-89 points: 0-2
90+ points: 1-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points: 0-0
60-69 points: 1-0
70-79 points: 0-2
80-89 points: 0-1
90+ points: 0-1
When leading at halftime: 1-2
When trailing at halftime: 0-2
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing more turnovers: 0-3
When committing fewer turnovers: 1-1
When turnovers are tied: 0-0
When leading in field-goal percentage: 1-2
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-2
When leading in three-point percentage: 0-1
When trailing in three-point percentage: 1-3
When three-point percentage is tied: 0-0
When leading in rebounding: 1-0
When trailing in rebounding: 0-4
When rebounding is tied: 0-0
When leading in assists: 1-0
When trailing in assists: 0-3
When assists are tied: 0-1
In OT: 0-0
The Coaches:
Austin McBeth is in his second season as head coach of the Friends University men's basketball program.
In his debut season, McBeth coached two All-KCAC performers and a pair of all-freshman members.
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 a 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.
Jayson Artaz is in his fifth season at the helm of the Bethel College Threshers. The program is coming off a runner-up finish in the KCAC postseason tournament and a second consecutive NAIA National Championship tournament appearance last year. The 2021-22 season was even more successful, with Artaz guiding the Threshers to the KCAC regular season and tournament championship along with an NAIA National Championship tourney berth.
Artaz began his head coaching tenure at Bethel with a stark familiarity with the program, having served as the team's lead assistant coach from 2014-18. Prior to arriving at Bethel, Artaz spent eight years coaching at the high school as both an assistant and head coach, including a stop as an assistant coach at Valley Center High School.
Artaz also played at Bethel and was a second-team all-conference selection in 2005 while still holding the program's single-season three-point record (96, 2004-05).
Up Next: The Falcons will be at Haskell Indian Nations University for a Saturday (Nov. 19) afternoon matchup at 3 pm in Lawrence, Kan. before resuming KCAC action next Tuesday night (Nov. 22) at (RV) Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kan.