ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – After winning their fourth straight Peach Belt Conference West Division Championship just three days prior, the University of Montevallo men's basketball team earned its first ever outright PBC Title on Saturday with a 91-81 win on the road at Flagler College.
Going for their fourth straight win, and 16th win in 18 games, Montevallo fell behind early on the road.
UM trailed 18-10 halfway through the first half. The Falcons then proceeded to go on a 22-9 run that culminated with back-to-back three-pointers from Shykeem Jackson and Troran Brown.
During the run that put the Falcons on top, Jackson and Brown combined for 18 of the 22 Montevallo points.
Before the half, Jackson would add another three-pointer, but the Saints came back to even the score at the break, 37-37.
Opening things up in the second half, the PBC West Champions put together another big run that would prove to be insurmountable for the home team.
The second half started off with a Bryant Orange three for UM, which would be the start of a 12-0 run.
Flagler would eventually claw back to get the lead to within single digits late, but could never get closer than five points, eventually falling to Falcons by the final score of 91-81.
Brown finished with 29 points, just two points shy of his season-high. He also dished out 10 assists, recording his sixth double-double of the year. The Peach Belt leader in points per game and assists shot 50% from the floor and made all eight of his free throws.
Orange had 17 points. He shot 60% from the floor, 80% from the free throw line, and made his lone three-point attempt.
Jackson finished the game with 19 points. He made half of his eight three-point shots and shot 75% from the free throw line.
The three guards (Brown, Orange, and Jackson) combined for 17 rebounds. As a team, the Falcons outrebounded the Saints by eight, 40-32.
Junior Malik Fields finished with a career-high 16 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds. The San Francisco native's nine boards were a team-high.
With the victory, Montevallo (20-8, 16-2) completed their fourth straight season with 20 wins in addition to having already captured their fourth consecutive PBC West crown.
This is the first outright conference regular season title for the Montevallo men's basketball team since joining the Peach Belt in the 2009-2010 season.
The Falcons will play their regular season finale this Wednesday, February 25. They will host Young Harris at 7:30 p.m. for senior night.
