COLUMBUS, Ga. – On Saturday night, the campus of Columbus State University played host to an instant classic between two of the elite men's basketball teams in the Peach Belt Conference, as the University of Montevallo Falcons squared off with the Jaguars of GRU Augusta in the semifinals of the conference tournament. In spectacular, dramatic fashion, the Falcons advanced to Sunday's PBC Championship Game, earning a 96-87 double overtime win over the Jaguars.
After scoring the first four points of the game, Montevallo found themselves on the wrong end of an early 11 point deficit, trailing 17-6 after a 17-2 GRU Augusta run.
The Falcons were able to get as close as two, but the Jaguars held the lead for the rest of the first half. After 20 minutes, GRU Augusta held a 36-32 advantage over the West Division Champions.
Montevallo's offense, not surprisingly, was led by Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year Troran Brown in the first half. Brown scored 17 of the 32 points recorded by Montevallo in the opening frame. None of Brown's teammates put up more than five in the half.
On the other side, the Jaguars were paced by their impressive senior trio. Ryan Weems, Harold Doby, and KJ Sherrill combined for 32 of the 36 GRU Augusta points. Weems led the way, scoring 13 on 5-9 shooting, including 2-5 from beyond the arc.
In the second half, this game went from a well-played contest between two talented conference rivals to an all-time classic.
The gap between the two teams never reached more than five points in the second half, with both teams holding the lead on multiple occasions.
Early in the second half, there was a big blow to the Falcons' lineup. Within 30 seconds of each other, starting big men Larry Slaughter and Orlando Brazier recorded their fourth fouls, forcing Montevallo to go to their bench with just under 15 minutes to go in regulation.
Da-Juan Cooper and Silas Mills, who replaced Slaughter and Brazier in the game, excelled in their roles off of the bench, helping the Falcons down the stretch. In the half, Cooper had seven points and six rebounds. Mills made his lone attempt from the field, grabbed four boards, and chipped in an assist. Each of them also had big, momentum building dunks.
"They gave us great energy. They defended, rebounded…they did everything I asked them to do," said Montevallo Head Coach Danny Young of Cooper and Mills.
Brown switched roles in the second half, transforming from a prolific scorer to a facilitator. Brown, who led the conference in assists in the regular season, had eight assists in the second half.
The biggest story in the second half for Montevallo was the guard play of Ryan May and Shykeem Jackson. May and Jackson had struggled to find their stroke to start the tournament. Through the opening game and the first half of this semifinal contest, the pair had combined for just 12 points. In the second half of Saturday's game, they scored 24 points between the two of them, highlighted by May's 16 point explosion. They were a combined 8-9 from the field and 6-7 from three-point land in the second half.
In the final seconds, the Falcons held a two point lead over the Jaguars after May split a pair of free throws. D'Angelo Boyce lobbed an inbound pass for the Jaguars and found an open Doby beneath the basket. Doby was able to record the basket with just .6 seconds showing on the clock and was fouled in the process. Doby went to the line with a chance to put GRU Augusta ahead, but missed the attempt, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, the two teams traded baskets and the back and forth affair went to a second overtime session.
For the Falcons, the second overtime would finally provide the breakthrough they needed. Montevallo was able to finally put away GRU Augusta, leaving the Lumpkin Center with a 96-87 win.
Brown's offense was on display in the overtime periods, scoring ten points in the extra time. On the game, Brown scored 27 points and recorded 13 assists. Brown's 13 assist night set the record for most assists in a Peach Belt Conference Tournament game and is the second most assists in a single game in Montevallo's Division II history.
May finished with 21 points, all of which were scored in the second half and overtime. He also had seven rebounds.
Jackson was third on the team in points, scoring 17. Jackson was clutch at the free throw line down the stretch to help seal the win for the Falcons.
Cooper finished with 13 points off the bench. A 47% free throw shooter on the season, Cooper stepped up big at the line, making five of his six attempts.
The lineup of Brown, May, Jackson, Cooper, and Mills played from 14:37 remaining in the second half all the way until the end of the game.
Brown played all 50 minutes of the game.
After recording his 300th career win in Friday's opening round victory over Francis Marion, Young earned his 250th win in his career at Montevallo in this contest.
The Falcons will look to claim the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Title tomorrow, Sunday, March 9th. They will face the winner of USC Aiken and Georgia Southwestern.
The game will tip-off at approximately 3:30 p.m. CST.
