Falcons Take Down Missouri Baptist

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - The Florida College Falcons defeated the Missouri Baptist University Spartans 79-71 on Monday afternoon in the first game of the Battle at the Beach!

The Battle at the Beach has a six-team field this year. All six teams made the NAIA National Tournament last season.

Florida College started fast, leading 43-30 at the half. In the second half, they extended the lead to 18 points but would allow MBU to claw back and eventually cut it to a 4-point deficit. FC would get the stops they needed and Matt Simpson calmly sank all his free-throw attempts to put the game away.

The Falcons were led in scoring by Drew Kramer. The sophomore came off the bench to pour in 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Matt Simpson contributed 17 points. Phat Cleveland rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points. The Falcons held the Spartans to 3-of-18 from three-point range.

"I wasn't pleased with how we finished the game," said head coach Chase Teichmann. "We have got to improve quickly with another big challenge tomorrow."

The #21 Falcons move to 8-1 on the season. Up next they'll take on the #10 LSU Shreveport Pilots at 3 PM (ET) tomorrow.