[Men's Basketball] MBB Gameday Preview: Falcons wrap up 2022-23 season with Senior Night ...

The Lowdown: No. 20 Southwestern College at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Feb. 18 @ 7 pm

Broadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/   

Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3KdX8NH

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons took one on the chin, 91-70 to the York University Panthers Wednesday night (Feb. 15) to fall to 5-22 overall and 4-17 in the KCAC.       

Ian Konek leads the Falcons in both scoring (13.1 ppg) and assists (1.8 apg), while Tim Barbieri (11.4 ppg) and Al Emerllahu (10.4 ppg) also average double-figure points.

Barbieri also leads the team and is third in the KCAC in rebounds (8.5 rpg) and second in field-goal percentage (60.3 percent) this season.  

Scouting the Moundbuilders: The No. 20-ranked Southwestern College Moundbuilders saw their four-game winning snapped in a 79-71 loss at Bethel College Wednesday night (Feb. 15).  The Builders are now 21-6 overall and third in the KCAC with a 15-6 league record.

Cevin Clark is tops in the KCAC in both scoring (22.7 ppg) and three-point percentage (45.8 percent), while Andrew O'Brien is scoring 10.9 ppg and ranks second in the KCAC with 9.2 rebounds per game along with a league-leading 6.6 assists. Deng Bol (13.8 ppg) and Jarvis Jennings (10.3 ppg) are also averaging double-digit scoring for Southwestern this season.

The Series: The Falcons and Builders have split the season series the past two seasons, with Friends upsetting (RV) Southwestern 72-66 at home in the second meeting last year (Feb. 5). The Falcons dropped the opening tilt in Winfield, Kan. earlier this season (Jan. 7) and are now 8-13 in the past 21 meetings vs. the Builders.         

Straight Shooter: Two of the league leaders in field goal accuracy will be on display in the matchup between the Falcons and Moundbuilders. The Falcons' Tim Barbieri (60.3 percent) is second in the KCAC in field-goal percentage, with the Builders' Deng Bol (55 percent) ranking fifth in the same category.

Welcome to the Club: Senior guard Ian Konek became the 10th member of the modern-era 1,000-point club in Friends University Men's Basketball history back on Dec. 3 vs. Ottawa University.  Konek now has 1,159 career points and currently leads the Falcons with 13.1 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: 5-22

KCAC: 4-17

Home: 3-9

Road: 2-12

Neutral: 0-1

When scoring:                                             

Under 50 points: 0-0

50-59 points: 0-5

60-69 points: 1-6

70-79 points: 1-7

80-89 points: 2-4

90+ points: 1-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points:

50-59 points: 0-0

60-69 points: 3-1

70-79 points: 1-8

80-89 points: 1-9

90+ points: 0-4

When leading at halftime: 4-7

When trailing at halftime: 1-14

When tied at halftime: 0-1

When committing fewer turnovers: 1-1

When committing more turnovers: 4-21

When turnovers are tied: 0-0

When leading in field-goal percentage: 5-8

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-13

When field-goal percentage is tied: 0-1

When leading in three-point percentage: 4-7

When trailing in three-point percentage: 1-15

When three-point percentage is tied: 0-0

When leading in rebounding: 4-7

When trailing in rebounding: 1-14

When rebounding is tied: 0-1

When leading in assists: 4-9

When trailing in assists: 1-12

When assists are tied: 0-1

In OT: 1-1

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 O'Brien is in his 14th season as head coach of the Southwestern College Moundbuilders and is now the winningest coach in school history with more than 300 career victories.  O'Brien has guided Southwestern to a winning record in all 13 seasons thus far in his tenure, including a conference regular season championship that earned him KCAC Coach of the Year honors in 2018. In that 2017-18 season, O'Brien led the Builders to a KCAC tournament championship, their second consecutive NAIA second round appearance and a 27-8 overall record that netted them a No. 6 ranking in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

Before arriving at Southwestern, O'Brien was the head coach at Central Christian College and an assistant coach at Friends University for seven seasons.  Three of O'Brien's seasons at Friends came under former Falcon head coach Dale Faber.

Up Next: The Falcons are looking to go out with a win in the 2022-23 season finale.