[Men's Basketball] Men's Basketball Falcons come up just short in OT vs. Avila

WICHITA, Kan. – In a wild game that featured nine ties and 27 lead changes, it was the Avila University Eagles picking up a 79-74 win in overtime over the Friends University Falcons in KCAC action tonight (Nov. 28) inside the Garvey Center.

In the extra session, Ian Konek (SR/Long Beach, Calif.) hit his seventh three to give the Falcons a one-point lead, but Tremaine Banks scored five straight points to ignite a 7-0 run to give Avila their largest lead of 71-65 at the 3:02 mark.

Konek kept the Falcons close, scoring five straight for the Falcons, including nailing his career-high tying eighth three-pointer to make it a one-point game at 73-72 with 34 seconds remaining.

After Banks converted two more free throws for Avila, Trey Reid (SO/Wichita, Kan. ) drove inside for a layup to again pull the Falcons within one with still 14 seconds left.

Following two free throws by Donte' Simpson, the Falcons attempted to get Konek free for a potential game-tying three-point attempt, but his long range shot fell just short and Simpson hit two more at the charity stripe to seal the win for Avila.

The final five minutes of regulation was a frenzy that saw six lead changes, culminating with the eighth tie of the game when Josh Kilpatrick split two free throws with six seconds left.

Neither side could gain much separation, with the Eagles six-point lead on two occasions in the overtime period representing the biggest advantage for either team. The Falcons' biggest lead was 45-40 on a three by Konek at the 10:47 mark of the second half.

The Eagles then answered right back with consecutive threes by Kilpatrick to go back on top in the back-and-forth affair.

The opening half was also tightly contested, with a late bucket by Reid giving the Falcons a 25-23 lead at the break.

Konek finished with 28 points, with six of his eight threes either tying the score or putting the Falcons on top.

Reid added 14 points and six assists, with Tim Barbieri (JR/Abilene,Kan. ) chipping in with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Falcons (1-8, 0-3 KCAC).

Banks led all scorers with 30 points and Jared Larson scored 13 for Avila. Simpson and Kilpatrick each had 10 points, while Simpson contributed six assists and DJ Pitia recorded nine boards for the Eagles (2-7, 1-3 KCAC).

The rebounds were even at 39-39 apiece, with the Falcons outscoring the Eagles 34-18 in the paint but Avila holding a 16-7 edge in second chance points.

After each team failed to reach 40 percent shooting in the opening half, both schools warmed up to shoot above 50 percent in the second half.

The Falcons will next play at No. 7-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University Thursday night (Dec. 1) in Bartlesville, Okla. before returning to the Garvey Center to host Ottawa University Saturday (Dec. 3) at 7 pm.