Falcons Bounce Back, Beat Park University

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The #21 Florida College Falcons handled business on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Park University Pirates 88-78.

In their third game in three days, the battered and bruised Falcons came out lethargic, trailing by nine early before taking a rare early time out.

Trailing 16-24 with 11 minutes remaining in the first half, the Falcons used a 24-8 run to take a 40-32 lead with 2:30 remaining in the half. The Pirates would go on a mini-run of their own, to trail by just three points at the break.

The beginning of the second half saw teams trading buckets for quite a while. Park tied the game at 51 with 14:54 remaining. From that point, FC put up their second 24-8 run in the game! FC led 75-59 with 5:55 remaining. Park would crank up the pressure and not go away easy, but ultimately they couldn't make enough plays and the Falcons emerged victorious.

Matt Simpson led the Falcons in scoring with 30 points. Phat Cleveland added 16. Ray Cao added 11 off the bench. Anthony Bittar scored 10 points, all in the second half.

"I'm really proud of the guys for responding in less than 24 hours to the dud we laid yesterday," said Teichmann. "They are tired, hurt, and frustrated but they are a resilient group and today they showed that. I'm really pleased with the play of a couple of key bench guys. Ray Cao had a fantastic weekend for us, and Steph Martin is showing people he is a legitimate scorer down low. Park is not an easy team to play period, much less in your third game in less than 70 hours."

The #21 Falcons move to 6-1 on the season. They'll take on the Webber International Warriors on Friday night in Babson Park, Florida. WIU is 2-0 on the young season, coming off a road victory at Warner University on Saturday.