William Carey Ends Falcons' Winning Streak

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. - The Florida College Falcons lost to William Carey University on Saturday afternoon, 84-67.

FC was led in scoring by Jacob Roark with 17 points. Roark sprained his ankle landing on his third made three of the first half and played the rest of the game through injury. Austin Mills was the only other player to reach double figures with 15 points. Mills also led the team with 8 rebounds. Ethan Smith had a team-high 6 assists.

The Falcons got off to a hot start thanks to Roark, taking a 15-6 lead which would be their largest on the afternoon. After leading 18-10, WCU knocked in three straight three-pointers to take a 19-18 lead on the Falcons.

Untimely mental mistakes were a key factor in the loss for the Falcons.

Up 30-28 with 6:31 left to play in the first half, the Crusaders used a 20-7 run to take an 11 point lead into the half, including a three-pointer at the buzzer.

FC battled back in the second half, cutting the deficit to five and later six points. William Carey was being very slow and patient, milking the clock and slowing the pace in an attempt to secure the victory most of the second half.

The Falcons forced the Crusaders into a ton of late shot clock situations with great defense in the second half; however, the Crusaders made some extremely difficult shots over and over to keep the lead.

The Crusaders were uncharacteristically hot from three, making 12 three-pointers at a 46% clip on the afternoon. They entered the contest averaging only six made three's per game.

FC got some really good looks from long range, but it just wasn't their day, making only 32% from behind the arc. The Falcons only shot 35% from the field as well. WCU is known for their defense and it showed in instances on Saturday.

"Credit to Steve and William Carey, they came in and won a tough ball game," said head coach Pat Todd. "They are a top 10 team in the country for a reason. They played really disciplined and made shots. We had one really bad stretch and they made us pay for it. That's what good teams do. We will come in Monday and correct it and get ready for Stillman."

The loss drops the Falcons to 6-3 (1-1) on the year. WCU moves to 4-3 (2-0).

FC has two weeks off until they play again. They will host fellow new SSAC member Stillman College (AL). Stillman is currently 8-0 (1-0) and averaging over 100 points per game.