Falcons Upset #25 William Carey University

TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. - The Florida College Falcons picked a great day to turn in a terrific effort against a ranked William Carey team, winning the game 95-83.

This marks the first win over an NAIA Division I ranked opponent in school history.

The Falcons led early, going up 20-10 in the first five minutes after a Stefan Nakic-Vojnovic three-pointer. They would keep the lead to at least 5 for the rest of the half, but closed on a mini 4-0 run to take a 9-point advantage into the intermission.

The Crusaders ramped up the pressure in the second half, going on a run to cut the FC lead to 2 points with 15:51 remaining. The Falcons answered right back with a 6-0 run of their own, including two buckets by Andrew Voss to push the lead back to 8.

Up 11 with 10 minutes remaining, FC allowed an 8-0 run to William Carey's Brandon Cranford by himself. He had cut it to a one-score game yet again, 68-65.

From there FC answered the bell again, going on a 11-2 run to take a 12-point lead with 6:09 to play. This was tied for their largest lead of the ball game at the time.

The closest WCU would get the rest of the way was 6 points. FC led by as much as 16 late before allowing a couple of late three's to the Crusaders.

The game featured one tie and 5 lead changes. FC's largest lead was 16 and WCU's was just 2 points. The Falcons led the whole game on from the 16:45 mark in the first half.

FC had five players reach double figures on the afternoon with leading scorer Matt Simpson leading the charge with 33 points. Stefan Nakic-Vojnovic added 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. Andrew Voss secured the double-double for the second straight game, scoring 16 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting, and snagging 14 rebounds. Voss also notched 4 blocked shots and was a force to be reckoned with for the Crusaders. Ethan Smith tallied 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, spending most of his time defending the leading scorer for WCU. Jalon Perry poured in 10 points off the bench for the Falcons. All 10 points were in the first half as the Falcons took the important lead that they'd never relenquish. Perry also grabbed 5 rebounds in 25-plus minutes.

The Falcons held the #25 Crusaders to 37.7% shooting for the game. FC had 24 assists as a team, just above their conference-leading 20 assists per night.

The win puts the Falcons at 10-13 (2-9 SSAC). FC doesn't get much rest as the Barons from Brewton-Parker (Ga.) College come to town Thursday night. Afterward, the Falcons will actually travel to BPC to play them on the road on Saturday.

"This is the biggest win in our school's history since entering the NAIA," stated head coach and athletic director Pat Todd. "They are a well-coached, fantastic ball club with a lot of talent. (I'm) proud of the way we competed."

"What a win for our team," added associate head coach Chase Teichmann. "Really proud of the execution and buy-in it took from our guys to defeat an opponent like this. These games haven't gone our way lately, but when they answered with a run, we punched right back. Steve Knight is a legend in the profession, it says something to be able to come out on top versus a team like that."

Junior guard Jalon Perry added, "Total team effort. Great execution from us. We never stopped, never settled."

Sophomore guard Ethan Smith said, "It was a great team win with terrific effort from top to bottom. We knew it was going to be a physical battle, but we were well prepared by our coaching staff and we executed and finished the job."

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