Falcons Fall in Peach Belt Conference Tournament Final, 65-60

AIKEN, S.C. - The University of Montevallo men's basketball team (23-7) dropped a hard-fought Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship game to USC Aiken (19-10) on the Pacers home court, 65-60. The Falcons were led by All-Tournament team members Freddy Little and Tauras Dortch. Little led all scorers with 20 points while Dortch had 10.

Senior Jordan Hutchison connected on four three pointers in the first half to score his 12 points. Junior Cecil Coleman had 11 points. Senior Gerald January led the team in rebounding with eight.

The Falcons were out-scored 32-14 in the paint which is normally the Falcons strong suit.

The home squad had a slight 36-31 advantage at the half, as neither team had trouble finding the range. The Pacers reached the mid-way point on 64 percent (16-25) shooting, while Montevallo did them one better at 65 percent (13-20). The eight halftime turnovers by the Falcons helped create the five-point USCA advantage.

The Falcons' hot shooting cooled off considerably in the second frame, hitting just nine field goals for 35 percent from the floor. The Pacers stretched out their halftime advantage as large as 17 at 54-37 with 8:13 remaining.

That's when Montevallo began playing its signature run-and-gun style, trimming the lead to three with a 26-6 run over the next 7:01, capped by a Little three at the 1:12 mark for a 63-60 score. After the Pacers missed a shot and January cleared the rebound, the Falcons missed a game-tying three, then fouled Willis who missed the first shot to keep the game at three.

Little went screaming down the left sideline, tried to crack another game-tying attempt from the corner, but Kevin Willis used all of his 6-foot-8 frame to knock the shot awry from behind. The rebound was cleared to Re'mon Nelson for an uncontested lay-up and the 65-60 final.

The Falcons will now await the NCAA Tournament selection announcement that is scheduled for tonight at 8:30 (CST).