[Men's Basketball] Men's Basketball Falcons Surge Late in 77-76 win over No. 20 Bethel

WICHITA, Kan. – On the heels of a 72-71 victory at (RV) Oklahoma Wesleyan University, the Friends University Falcons notched another statement victory within the KCAC by rallying late for a 77-76 victory over the No. 20-ranked Bethel College Threshers tonight (Dec. 14) inside the Garvey Center. The Falcons are now 7-3 in the KCAC and in third place, one half game behind Bethel for the second spot in the league.

Fresh off of his game-winning four-point play at OKWU, Jun Murdock (FR/Wichita, Kan. ) again came up huge down the stretch.

With the Threshers appearing in control with a double-figure lead of 76-65 with 3:23 left, Murdock willed the Falcons back in the game with two straight buckets and then drilled a three to make it a four-point game with two minutes left.

Tate Vang (JR/Wichita, Kan. ), who would come up even bigger a short time later, got free inside for a score from Davonte Pack (JR/Sumter, SC) to bring the Falcons within two at 76-74 with still 1:19 left.

Following another defensive stand by the Falcons, Zion Fralin (JR/Wichita, Kan. ) drove and hit a one-handed hook shot to tie the score at the 23 second mark.

The Threshers then misfired on a potential go-ahead attempt and were whistled for a foul on the rebound that sent Vang to the charity stripe with 0.4 seconds left.

Vang missed the first free throw, but hit the all-important back end to give the Falcons the lead. 

"I think that's probably one of the biggest shots I've hit in my career," Vang said.  I've never really been an offensive guy, but a defensive guy so being on the line at the end of the game was fun."

Bethel then turned it over on the ensuing inbounds pass as the Falcons put away the victory.

"I'm thinking that we are continuing to learn how to play and how not to play," Friends head coach Dale Faber said. "Our execution on both ends of the court the last four minutes was enough for us to finish the deal. I might miss somebody but big plays offensively starting with Jun giving us a belief that we could get it done. Zion hit the one to pull us even and then Tate hitting the pressure free throw. Davonte was big on the boards and scoring."

Pack helped the Falcons get off to a hot start, scoring 11 points to fuel a 19-7 lead just over 10 minutes into the contest.

A three by Bryant Rogers (JR/Kansas City, Kan. ) extended the edge to 22-8 and the Falcons upped the lead to 15 on three occasions, with the last two times coming on baskets from James Conley (SR/Derby, Kan. ).

But the Threshers closed the half in furious fashion, using eight points by Kylon Brant to ignite a 17-4 burst over the final 5:03 to claw within 32-30 at the break.

The Threshers kept up the pressure and took their first lead of the game on a three by Jaylen Scott that made it 35-34 one minute into the second half.

Bethel eventually led by as much as 12 at 63-51 at the 10:37 mark.

The Falcons fought back at that point and climbed within three on a bucket by Gabriel Coachman (SR/Sao Paulo, Brazil) that capped an 11-2 push with 8:23 left.

Pack led the Falcons in scoring for the second straight game with a game-high 22 points along with team-best totals of eight rebounds and four assists.

Murdock finished with 15 points and Fralin added 12 for the Falcons (8-6, 7-3 KCAC). Vang chipped in with 11 points and pulled down a season-high six boards.

"I think it's all my teammates and coaches believing in me," Murdock said. "And I give all the glory to God, he just blessed me with all these talents and I just go out there and use them."

Bryant led the Threshers with 17 points, with Scott scoring 12 and recording a team-best eight rebounds. Garrett White scored 16 for Bethel (12-3, 7-2 KCAC).

On the interior, the Falcons held a 36-34 edge in rebounding and outscored the Threshers 40-30 in the paint.

Following the Christmas holiday, the Falcons will play an exhibition game at NCAA D-II Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Dec. 31 at 3 pm in Durant, Okla.

"Bethel offered so many challenges and we struggled at times but continued to fight for the victory," Faber said. "What we are excited about as coaches is that we didn't survive, but we fought back and got it done."