HARROGATE, Tenn. – For the sixth straight year, the University of Montevallo men's basketball team earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the opening round game against the Carson-Newman University Eagles, the Falcons used a second half offensive outburst to catapult them to the round of 32, vanquishing Carson-Newman, 74-69.
The beginning of the game was a back and forth struggle between the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Champions, Montevallo, and the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Champions, Carson-Newman.
At the first media timeout, there had been five lead changes, and neither team held a lead of more than two points.
Coming out of the media timeout, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run to open up a 17-11 advantage on the Peach Belt Conference Champions.
Shykeem Jackson was integral for the Falcons as they withstood the onslaught from Carson-Newman. Jackson had 9 of the 10 UM points during a five minute stretch, keeping the Falcons within striking distance of the Eagles.
Carson-Newman continued to lead throughout the remainder of the half and carried a 38-31 advantage to the locker room at halftime.
The Falcons were familiar with trailing at halftime. Just six days prior, Montevallo won the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship after erasing a 21-point deficit at the half against the Columbus State Cougars.
In the second half, the Falcons showed poise in the face of adversity, hitting the majority of their shots and outscoring the seventh seeded Eagles 43-31 in the final 20 minutes.
Montevallo shot 57.7% from the floor in the second half.
The PBC Coach of the Year, Danny Young, now owns a 21-9 record at Montevallo.
Troran Brown, the PBC Player of the Year and Daktronics Southeast Region Player of the Year, was held to just seven points and two assists in the first half. In the second half, the senior from Phoenix, Arizona scored 16 points, finishing with 23 points for his 17th 20-point game of the year. He also had four assists in the second half and had a game-high six assists for the game.
After the game, Brown talked about how assists are such a vital part of his game. "Getting my teammates going opens things up for me," said Brown.
Jackson finished with 15 points in addition to a stellar defensive game. All of Jackon's points came from beyond the arc, going 5-for-7 from distance.
Bryant Orange finished the game with nine points, including two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to help seal the game for the Falcons.
The Falcons went with a small lineup in the second half, playing Orange at a forward spot, which "changed the game" defensively, according the coach Young.
Kimani Key hit the only shot he took, a three in front of his own bench. That three from the junior gave Montevallo its biggest lead in the game, putting UM up by 12 points with three and half minutes to play.
Larry Slaughter, the PBC Tournament MVP, had nine points, while Malik Fields had three points to match his three assists.
The Southeast Region Semifinals will pit the second-seeded Falcons against the third seed, UNC Pembroke. It will be the third time this year that the two PBC foes have met this season. The Braves won the regular season meeting, while Montevallo was victorious in the PBC Tournament.
That contest will tipoff at 5:00 p.m. EST/4:00 p.m. CST tomorrow, March 15. The winner of that semifinal game will advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
