[Men's Basketball] MBB Gameday Preview: Falcons Try to Move Up KCAC Ladder Tomorrow vs. Saint Mary

The Lowdown: University of Saint Mary at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Jan. 13 @ 7 pm

Broadcast and Live Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/friends/

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons put together a dominating performance in defeating the Ottawa University Braves 91-73 Wednesday night (Jan. 10) to move into a tie for third place in the KCAC with the University of Saint Mary and Kansas Wesleyan University at 7-4 in the league.

The Falcons, now 9-9 overall, are led by Jordan Murdock (JR/Wichita, Kan.)'s 29.7 points per game and 10.3 rebounds. Murdock is tops in the NAIA in scoring while ranking sixth in rebounding. He is also first in the league and fourth in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (8.1).

Atir Cherne (JR/Wichita, Kan.) is second on the team in scoring at 10.3 ppg and EJ Garnes (JR/Wichita, Kan. ) is tops on the Falcons and second in the KCAC in assists per game (5.6 apg).

Scouting the Spires: The University of Saint Mary Spires defeated McPherson College 89-77 on Wednesday to improve to 9-8 overall and 7-4 in the KCAC. The Spires have now alternated wins and losses in their past seven games.

Demetrious Cady leads the Spires in scoring with 14.3 ppg, followed closely by Brett Marsh's 14.0 ppg.  Cady is also the top free-throw shooter the NAIA, hitting 96.4 percent (53-of-55) of his attempts at the charity stripe.

Teyvon Lundy is third in scoring with 11.9 ppg and has delivered a team-high 61 assists, while Lavar McCullough is averaging 11.6 ppg along with a team-best 5.2 rpg.

The Series: With a 73-70 victory at Saint Mary earlier this season, the Falcons are now 5-5 vs. the Spires in the last 10 meetings between the schools. Recent history has been controlled by the home team, as this was the Falcons' first win in Leavenworth, Kan. since the 2010-11 season. Friends has also won the past four home matchups, with the Spires last win in Wichita coming in the 2012-13 campaign.

The Coaches:

Dale Faber enters his 15th season leading the Friends University men's basketball program.

Overall, Faber is 245-205, with a 161-101 mark in KCAC play in his tenure at Friends. He has been named the KCAC Coach of the Year twice (2010, 2014), along with four KCAC Tournament Championships and two KCAC Regular Season Championships.

Faber's philosophy for building and maintaining a successful program is simple: find good student-athletes with strong values who are dedicated, hardworking, loyal and committed to representing Friends University in a positive light at all times. Known for his quick humor, Coach Faber strives to be supportive in all aspects of his player's lives. The philosophy of faith, family, academics and basketball has become a thought process that continues to fuel his teams.

"Entering our 15th year at Friends University our goals remain consistent. We should never lose track of what a blessing it is to be able to grow our relationships within our team and the Friends University community," Faber said. "We will work hard to be a team that pursues success on the court but also strives to be well thought of because of our efforts academically and growing our participation in the NAIA Champions of Character Program.

"With only one returning starter, we obviously have plenty of holes to fill. We have transfers and freshmen who are very capable and they will have to be ready for the grind immediately. Players who did not have much of a role last year will need to step up and compete for the valuable minutes. It will be interesting to see who steps to the front most consistently."

Faber and his wife of 30 years, Stacey, live in Wichita.

Troy Brown is in fourth 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.  Prior to that, Brown was an assistant coach at USM for three seasons.

Up Next: The Falcons will play at Oklahoma Wesleyan University next Wednesday night (Jan. 17), with tip-off set for 8 pm in Bartlesville, Okla.

The Falcons won the first meeting this season against OKWU, 72-71 after the Falcons outscored the Eagles 11-0 over the final 1:31 for a dramatic, come-from-behind victory.