Wichita Standard

Eagles Down Men's Basketball Falcons

The Friends University Falcons fell 72-61 tonight (Jan. 26) at the Avila University Eagles in KCAC action in Kansas City, Mo.

The Falcons stayed close early and trailed just 23-21 following a layup by Al Emerllahu (FR/San Antonio, Texas) at the 7:53 mark of the opening half.

From that point, the Eagles gained control and outscored the Falcons 17-4 for more than a seven minute stretch to expand the lead to 15 points.

Avila led 42-29 at the break before the Falcons cut the lead down to seven when a three by Emerllahu made it 45-38 with 16:47 remaining in the game.

With the lead still at seven, the Eagles scored the next seven points to take their largest lead of the game at the 11:28 mark.

The Falcons again tightened things up as a three by Ian Konek (SR/Long Beach, Calif.) and a layup from Christian Williams (FR/Wichita, Kan. ) trimmed the deficit to five at 58-53.

Tyree King answered with a three of his own to push the Eagle lead back to eight with 8:06 left.

The Eagles kept their distance the rest of the way, not allowing the Falcons closer than six but not leading by double-figures until four free throws over the final 1:16 created the final 11-point margin of victory for Avila.

Staco led the Falcons (4-17, 3-12 KCAC) with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, with Williams chipping in with 12 points and a career-high five assists. Tim Barbieri (JR/Abilene,Kan. ) also scored 12 and pulled down nine boards, with Emerllahu finishing with 10 points.  

Eric Smith Jr. paced the Eagles with 18 points, followed by 14 points and six boards from Craig Jordan. Donte' Simpson also had six rebounds along with six assists for Avila (5-16, 4-12 KCAC).

The Falcons were outshot 43.5 percent (27-62) to 39.7 percent (23-58) from the field, but managed a 38-33 advantage in rebounding that included a 14-10 edge on the offensive glass.

Next up for the Falcons is a matchup at home Saturday night (Jan. 28) against No. 2-ranked Oklahoma Wesleyan University at 7 pm inside the Garvey Center.

Saturday is also FCA night, with $1 of every ticket sold going to the Friends University FCA program, led by Campus Representative Keith Townsend.

Purchase tickets to catch Saturday's action, or donate HERE to FCA if you are unable to attend the game.

Original source can be found here