[Men's Basketball] MBB Gameday Preview: Falcons face Tabor at home tomorrow night in KCAC ...
The Lowdown: Tabor College at Friends University
Part of KCAC's "Road to Hartman" DH of the Week
Location: Garvey Center
When: Tuesday, Dec. 13 @ 8 pm
Broadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/
Radio: ESPN Radio 92.3 FM
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3W8YNqD
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons broke through for their first KCAC win of the 2022-23 season with a 77-63 thumping of the University of Saint Mary Spires last Wednesday night (Dec. 7) inside the Garvey Center. The Falcons' late rally then fell short 73-69 at Sterling College Saturday (Dec. 10) to make their overall record 2-11 overall and 1-6 in the KCAC.
Konek leads the Falcons and is fifth in the KCAC with 16.5 points per game, while Tim Barbieri (JR/Abilene,Kan. ) is tops on the team and third in the league with 8.8 rebounds. Barbieri (62.9 percent) is also second in the league in field-goal percentage, while Darryon Frierson (SO/Wichita, Kan. ) is tied for fifth in the KCAC with a team-leading 3.1 assists per game for the Falcons.
Scouting the Bluejays: The Tabor College Bluejays enter the matchup with the Falcons on a two-game losing skid that followed two straight wins and are now 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the KCAC.
Thatcher McClure is pacing the Bluejays in both points (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg) this season and Austin Hilton is also scoring in double-figures with 10.8 ppg. Kreeland Avery and Marvin Ruffin each lead Tabor with 1.2 assists per game.
The Series: The Falcons swept the Bluejays last season and have now won eight of the last nine matchups in the series.
Quoting Head Coach Austin McBeth:
"I like our match up with Tabor. We're both two of the youngest teams in the league, and I hope getting them at home will help us get off to a fast start. This will be an important game for us going into the break."
Defender of the Falcons: Friends University sophomore forward Steve Staco (SO/Orlando, Fla.) earned his first career KCAC Defensive Player of the Week honor after averaging six defensive rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in the Falcons' two games this past week.
Welcome to the Club: Senior guard Ian Konek (SR/Long Beach, Calif.) became the 10th member of the modern-era 1,000-point club in Friends University Men's Basketball history back on Dec. vs. Ottawa University. Konek now has 1,026 career points and ranks fifth in the KCAC with a team-leading 16.5 ppg 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 purchase tickets for all home basketball games by clicking HERE.
Falcons by the Numbers:
Overall record: 2-11
KCAC: 1-6
Home: 2-4
Road: 0-6
Neutral: 0-1
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 0-0
50-59 points: 0-2
60-69 points: 0-2
70-79 points: 1-5
80-89 points: 0-2
90+ points: 1-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points: 0-0
60-69 points: 2-0
70-79 points: 0-7
80-89 points: 0-3
90+ points: 0-1
When leading at halftime: 2-5
When trailing at halftime: 0-6
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing more turnovers: 1-10
When committing fewer turnovers: 1-1
When turnovers are tied: 0-0
When leading in field-goal percentage: 2-7
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-4
When leading in three-point percentage: 1-5
When trailing in three-point percentage: 1-6
When three-point percentage is tied: 0-0
When leading in rebounding: 2-4
When trailing in rebounding: 0-6
When rebounding is tied: 0-1
When leading in assists: 2-4
When trailing in assists: 0-6
When assists are tied: 0-1
In OT: 0-1
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 and 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.
Matt Warren is in his first season at the helm of the Tabor College men's basketball program. Prior to arriving at Tabor, Warren spent five seasons as the associate head coach at Warner University (Fla.), where he helped the program win three Sun Conference regular season championships.
Up Next: The Falcons will take time off for the Christmas break before playing an exhibition at NCAA D-II Missouri Western State University on Dec. 28 in St. Joseph, Mo. The next KCAC outing for the Falcons will be at York University on Jan. 4.