[Men's Basketball] MBB Gameday Preview: No. 24 Falcons Aim to Keep Rolling Tomorrow Night vs. ...
The Lowdown: University of Saint Mary at No. 24 Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Jan. 12 @ 7 pm
Broadcast: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/friends/
Flying with the Falcons: The No. 24-ranked Friends University Falcons jumped into the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' poll on Tuesday and made a convincing statement that they belong, crushing the Sterling College Warriors Thursday night (Jan. 10) 107-73 in Sterling, Kan. The Falcons are now 14-4 overall and remain in third place in the KCAC at 10-3 in the league.
It's the largest victory margin for the Falcons since winning 93-54 at Kansas Wesleyan University during the 2014-15 season. The 10-game streak is also the longest for Friends since winning 16 straight games in the 2013-14 campaign.
Jordan Murdock (SR/Wichita, Kan.) led a balanced Falcon offensive attack, scoring 27 points along with seven rebounds, including knocking down 14-of-15 from the free throw line.
Zion Fralin (SO/Wichita, Kan. ) contributed a career-high tying 22 points, with James Conley (JR/Derby, Kan. ) posting a stat line of 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. Evans also scored 13 for the Falcons (14-4, 10-3 KCAC) and Vernon Vaughn (SR/Kansas City, Kan. ) had 12 points.
Murdock is leading the Falcons in points (29.3 ppg), rebounds (9.4 rpg) and assists (5.0 apg). He is now tops in the league and second in the NAIA in points per game, while also ranking second in the KCAC in assists per game.
The Falcons are also receiving double-figure scoring output from Conley (15.3 ppg), Atir Cherne (SR/Wichita, Kan.) (11.6 ppg) and Vaughn (11.1 ppg).
Friends is the highest scoring team in the KCAC, averaging over 92 points per game that is good for fifth in the NAIA. The Falcons are also first in the league and fifth in the nation in free-throw percentage (.800).
Scouting the Spires: The University of Saint Mary Spires fell 86-78 at Bethel College Thursday night (Jan. 10) to snap their three-game winning streak. The Spires are now 8-10 overall, but are tied for fourth in the KCAC with an 8-5 mark.
Raylon Howard is pacing the Spires in scoring (14.9 ppg) and is also second in rebounding with 6.4 rpg this season. Teyvon Lundy is second with 13.0 ppg along with a team-high 2.6 assists. Tevin Killeen is also scoring in double-figures at 10.1 ppg and Dan Hailey leads USM with 7.5 rebounds per game.
The Series: The Falcons are now 7-5 in the past 12 matchups vs. Saint Mary after winning the first meeting this season on the road and sweeping the season series last year. Friends has also won the past six outings at home, with the Spires' last win in Wichita coming in the 2012-13 season.
Under 80 is Key: The Falcons have won all nine outings when holding the opposition below the 80 point mark, compared to a 5-4 mark when allowing 80 or more points.
Streakin' Falcons: The Falcons are rolling along with a 10-game winning streak, their longest such streak since winning 16 consecutive games in the 2013-14 season.
A Career to Celebrate: Jordan Murdock is putting together a career that will be remembered at Friends University long after his playing days are over. Murdock recently reached the 2,000 career point milestone in his 75th career game after taking only 41 games to score 1,000 career points. Last season's KCAC Player of the Year and first-team NAIA All-America performer, Murdock has scored in double-figures in all but one of his 79 career games at Friends, with a career scoring average of 27.0 ppg.
Falcons by the Numbers:
When scoring:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points:
60-69 points:
70-79 points:
80-89 points: 5-2
90+ points: 9-2
When allowing:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points:
60-69 points: 4-0
70-79 points: 5-0
80-89 points: 4-1
90+ points: 1-3
When leading at halftime: 14-2
When trailing at halftime: 0-2
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When winning the turnover battle: 11-3
When turnovers are even: 2-1
When losing the turnover battle: 1-0
In OT: 0-1
The Coaches:
Dale Faber is in his 16th season leading the Friends University men's basketball program.
Overall, Faber is 266-215, with a 177-109 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 a pair of KCAC Regular Season Championships.
In the 2017-18 campaign, Faber guided the Falcons to a top five finish in the KCAC after hovering in the top two of the league for much of the season.
Faber also coached the KCAC Player of the Year and first-team NAIA All-America performer, Jordan Murdock, who led the nation in scoring (29.8 ppg) last season.
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 16th 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. 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.
Faber and his wife of 31 years, Stacey, live in Wichita.
Troy Brown is in fifth 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 host Ottawa University Wednesday night (Jan. 16) at 8 pm inside the Garvey Center.