The Kansas Wesleyan battled a nationally-ranked opponent to the wire but couldn't pull off the upset.
Friends, the 21st-ranked team in the NAIA, scored the game's last five points and escaped with a 71-67 Kansas Conference victory Saturday inside Mabee Arena.
Evens Appolon's field goal with 3:16 remaining gave the Coyotes a 65-62 lead but Friends ended the game on a 9-2 run.
The Falcons took the lead 66-65 on an Eli Benning basket with 2:04 left but KWU regained the advantage on Appolon's follow shot inside with 1:29 on the clock.
Friends, the defending KCAC champion, answered with Ringo Deng's 3-pointer at the 1:16 mark for a 69-67 lead and two Cahlese Lee free throws with 14.2 seconds left capped the scoring.
The Coyotes (4-6, 2-3 KCAC) had a turnover and two missed shots on their last three possessions.
Coach Jordan Murdock was pleased with his team's effort.
"I thought we played hard," he said on the postgame radio show. "We came out and gave them a fight. That's a really good team, they're battle tested, they've got a lot of guys coming back from last year."
The Coyotes led 32-31 at halftime, and a 13-4 run early in the second half game gave them a 45-35 lead with just over 15 minutes left. KWU was still in control 58-53 with just under seven minutes remaining before the Falcons (7-2, 4-1 KCAC) started their comeback.
Appolon, KWU's 6-foot-9 center, continued his strong play of late with 17 points, six rebounds and three blocks. He scored 15 on 7 of 8 shooting in the second half.
"He's staying out of foul trouble and is available for his team," Murdock said. "Really just walling up, not just looking for the blocks all the time. I thought he played well."
Caiden Punt and Aiden Leckband scored 12 apiece for KWU; Punt also had seven rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Braylin Goins added nine points, four rebounds and two steals.
Leckband was playing just his second game of the season after returning from an injury.
"Aiden did a really good job, he's been progressing in practice daily and for me that's what it's all about," Murdock said.
Wesleyan shot 46 percent (26 of 56) including 5 of 16 from 3-point range, won the rebounding battle 34-25 and had 13 turnovers.
Friends shot 50 percent (28 of 56), was 6 of 23 from deep and had 10 turnovers. Lee led the Falcons with 16 points and Collin Maclin had 13.
"We've got to continue to come out and battle," Murdock said. "We're getting the experience that we want but at the same time we've got to be able to win these tough, tight games."