Falcons Use Late First Half Run to Pull Away from Broncos
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hastings ( ) | 36 | 20 | 56 |
|
Friends (KS) ( ) | 45 | 43 | 88 |
(Wichita, KS) – Hastings concluded their 2024 calendar year with a 88-56 loss at Friends on Tuesday. The Falcons turned the game when the Broncos led 27-24 with 4:49 left in the opening half, going on a 21-9 to close the half that preceded a 43-20 second half score.
Junior Christian Pujals knocked down two threes to open the game for the Broncos, giving them an early 6-4 lead. Friends clawed their way back to take a 16-10 lead at the 12:53 mark. On the next possession, sophomore Ben Boudreau absorbed the contact and finished off a three-point play to get within three.
Trailing 21-13 midway through the half, Hastings went on a 14-3 run to go up 27-24 with 4:49 left in the period. The run started with a basket from Simon, then after a steal by Boudreau, junior David Ogunlade got an offensive rebound off a Bronco miss and found freshman Maverick Binder for an open three.
After a timeout, Friends responded with a made basket, but Binder hit another from downtown to trim the lead to two at 23-21. The Falcons split a pair at the line, then following an empty Bronco possession, Binder got a steal and junior DaRon Hall got on the board to get within one. Junior Myles Simon concluded the Bronco run with a four-point play, getting fouled on a made three.
The Falcons closed the half on a 21-9 run in the final four-and-a-half minutes of half to take a 45-36 lead, including a 10-0 run in about a minute of action after the Broncos took the three-point lead.
Hastings opened the half with the first five points, as Ogunlade drilled a three-pointer and following a defensive stop, sophomore Hunter Hill drew the foul and put in both free throws to get within four at the 18:36 mark.
Friends scored 21 of the next 24 points, however, ballooning the lead to 67-44 with 12:16 remaining. Sophomore David Hageman got the deficit back to 20 briefly with a made three, but Friends grew the lead back out with a 6-0 run. The Falcons would stretch the lead out to 30 with 5:38 remaining in the second half, eventually winning 88-56.
Pujals led the Broncos in scoring with 10 points, along with eight points from Binder. Hall contributed seven points and three rebounds. The Falcons shot 50 percent from the field and held the Broncos to 42 percent. Friends outrebounded the Broncos 45-20, including 16-2 on the offensive glass, leading to 23 second chance points for Friends.
Hastings will resume conference play with a road contest at #7 Northwestern on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 3:45pm.
