Friends puts two in KCAC title games
A 67-percent shooting performance, including 13 of 14 from sophomore guard Toby Baxter, propelled Friends’ men’s basketball team to an 89-79 upset of KCAC regular-season champion Tabor in a conference tournament semifinal game Saturday in Hillsboro.
Friends (16-15) will face Sterling, a 65-64 winner over No. 2-seed Saint Mary, in Monday’s 6 p.m. championship game at Park City’s Hartman Arena. The winner advances to the NAIA Division II tournament.
Baxter, from Kapaun Mount Carmel, scored 35 points and handed out five assists. He made all four of this three-point attempts and 5 of 6 free throws.
Friends led 15-6 less than 3 1/2 minutes into the game. Tabor (19-12) closed to 28-22 with 8:41 to play before halftime, but Friends made two more runs to lead 50-36 at the break.
Dewayne Biggs had 19 points to lead Tabor, which won the KCAC by two games over Saint Mary and four over third-place Friends and Bethany.
FRIENDS (16-15): Baxter 13-14 5-6 35, Williams 4-5 2-2 12, Scott 4-5 1-1 10, Johnson 3-7 1-2 10, Sponsel 2-3 1-2 5, Singhaleh 2-8 8-8 12, Rowe 1-1 1-2 3, Anderson 1-1 0-0 2, Fivecoats 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-45 19-24 89.
TABOR (19-12): Carter 6-9 4-7 17, Thomas 6-11 3-4 15, Nemit 4-6 0-0 11, Brooks 3-14 0-0 9, Jedneak 2-4 0-0 4, Biggs 7-11 2-3 19, Malan 1-1 0-0 3, LeBlanc 0-1 1-2 1, Arck 0-0 0-0 0, Gibson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-57 10-16 79.
Halftime – Friends 50-36. Three-point shooting – Friends 10-18 (Baxter 4-4, Johnson 3-6, Williams 2-2, Scott 1-2, Sponsel 0-1, Fivecoats 0-1, Singhateh 0-2), Tabor 11-26 (Nemit 3-5, Biggs 3-5, Brooks 3-12, Malan 1-1, Carter 1-2, LeBlanc 0-1). Rebounds – Friends 22 (Singhateh, Sponsel 4), Tabor 27 (Thomas 10). Assists – Friends 18 (Baxter, Williams, Scott 5), Tabor 16 (Carter 10). Turnovers – Friends 11 (Williams 4), Tabor 12 (Carter 5). Fouls – Friends 15, Tabor 20. Fouled out – None.
Sterling 65, Saint Mary 64
STERLING (16-15): Gardner 3-7 0-0 7, T. Smith 1-1 2-4 4, Stacker 7-10 2-2 17, Swank 2-6 1-2 6, Thompson 4-10 1-2 13, Eubanks 0-1 0-0 0, Givens 1-6 0-0 3, Jaderston 0-1 0-0 0, Oyatayo 1-2 1-2 3, Ray 1-4 2-2 4, K. Smith 4-6 0-1 8, Speer 0-0 0-0 0. 24-54 9-15 65.
SAINT MARY (22-9): Greenberg 4-10 6-6 14, Hicks 3-4 0-0 6, Mondaine 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 4-18 0-0 10, Young 6-8 1-1 13, Clark 1-3 0-0 2, Griffin 8-18 3-5 19, McKay 0-1 0-0 0, Medley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 10-12 64.
Halftime – Saint Mary 32-27. Three-point shooting – Sterling 8-22 (Thompson 4-7, Stacker 1-1, Gardner 1-2, Givens 1-4, Swank 1-5, Eubanks 0-1, Jaderston 0-1, Ray 0-1), Saint Mary 2-28 (Thomas 2-13, Young 0-1, Medley 0-2, Greenberg 0-5, Griffin 0-7). Rebounds – Sterling 34 (Thompson 6), Saint Mary 33 (Thomas, Hicks 8). Assists – Sterling 10 (Gardner 4), Saint Mary 12 (Young 5). Turnovers – Sterling 19 (Stacker, Oyatayo 4), Saint Mary 14 (Clark 4). Fouls – Sterling 14, Saint Mary 14. Fouled out – None.
Friends women 71, Saint Mary 60 – Friends’ defense held Saint Mary to 33.3-percent shooting and forced 23 turnovers in advancing to Monday’s 8 p.m. championship game against the winner of Saturday’s late Southwestern-Sterling game.
Kayla Mollere had 19 points, 11 rebounds and nine steals to lead Friends. Teammate Emily Barto had 13 points.
SAINT MARY (12-18): Dixon 4-13 3-4 14, Emde 0-6 2-2 2, Marusak 2-7 0-0 6, Palmer 4-8 4-6 12, Switzer 2-10 5-5 10, Chambers 0-0 0-0 0, Frantz 2-4 0-0 5, Hinkle 4-6 2-2 11, Holt 0-0 0-0 0, Laughlin 0-0 0-0 0, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-54 16-19 60.
FRIENDS (21-11): Barton 4-10 1-2 13, Hines 0-2 0-0 0, Mollere 8-13 3-5 19, Ptacek 2-4 1-2 6, Sanders 2-5 6-6 11, Atherton 0-0 2-2 2, Boyd 3-6 5-6 11, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Justice 2-6 1-2 6, McMullen 1-2 0-0 2, Rose 0-10 1-2 1, Torres 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 20-28 71.
Halftime – Friends 31-30. Three-point shooting – Saint Mary 8-28 (Dixon 3-9, Marusak 2-7, Hinkle 1-1, Frantz 1-3, Switzer 1-4, Palmer 0-1, Emde 0-3), Friends 7-24 (Barton 4-9, Sanders 1-2, Justice 1-3, Ptacek 1-3, Hines 0-1, Rose 0-6). Rebounds – Saint Mary 40 (Palmer 8), Friends 36 (Mollere 11). Assists – Saint Mary 12 (Hinkle 5), Friends 17 (Sanders 4). Turnovers – Saint Mary 23 (Switzer 9), Friends 16 (McMullen 4). Fouls – Saint Mary 23, Friends 17. Fouled out – Dixon, Barto.
This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 8:49 PM with the headline "Friends puts two in KCAC title games."