[Men's Basketball] Warriors hold off Men's Basketball Falcons
Sterling, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons' late rally fell short in a 73-69 setback at the Sterling College Warriors in KCAC action tonight (Dec. 10) in Sterling, Kan.
The Falcons trailed from the 11:29 mark of the first half through the end of the contest, but nipped at the Warriors' heels throughout.
Sterling led 35-30 at the break and eventually ballooned the lead up to double-figures at 65-55 on a three by Lucas Briar with 6:19 remaining in the game.
Still down nine at the 4:22 mark, the Falcons marched back behind buckets from Ian Konek (SR/Long Beach, Calif.), Trey Reid (SO/Wichita, Kan. ) and Kee'on Hutton (FR/Wichita, Kan.) to make it a one-possession game with still 1:05 left on the clock.
After a clutch basket by Derrian Reed stretched the Warrior lead back to five, Konek drew a foul and hit both foul shots to again make it a three-point game at 72-69 with 20 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, the Falcons forced a turnover as Konek came away with a steal, but Drew Patterson (SO/Charlotte, NC) was called for an offensive foul with just 3.9 seconds remaining.
The Falcons were then forced to foul Reed, who missed the first but hit the critical second free throw to put it away for the Warriors.
Al Emerllahu (FR/San Antonio, Texas) led the Falcons (2-11, 1-6 KCAC) with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Steve Staco (SO/Orlando, Fla.) scored 11 and pulled down a career-high tying 11 boards along with a pair of blocks and two steals.
Reed finished with a game-high 19 points for the Warriors (7-5, 4-3 KCAC) and Briar scored 14. Elias Ngoga chipped in with 13 points and Cedric Rollerson also scored in double-figures with 10 points. Will Thigpen led Sterling with eight rebounds and four assists.
The Warriors outshot the Falcons from the field (44.6 percent-39.3 percent) and three-point range (38.1 percent-29.2 percent), but it was the Falcons with a 37-29 edge on the glass.
Friends will next wrap up action prior to the Christmas break at home Wednesday night (Dec. 13) vs Tabor College, with tip-off set for 8 pm inside the Garvey Center.