SCORE

UNC Pembroke 80, Montevallo 71

RECORD

Montevallo 7-6 overall (3-3 in Peach Belt Conference)

UNC Pembroke 8-7 overall (2-4 in Peach Belt Conference)

LOCATION

English E. Jones Center (Pembroke, North Carolina)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Montevallo showed tremendous effort to overcome a 16-point deficit in the second half before falling short in a comeback bid in a 80-71 setback at UNC Pembroke as the Falcons dropped their third consecutive game on the road in Peach Belt Conference play.

The Falcons got off to a solid start and went on a 6-0 run, capped with a pair of free throws by senior Malik Fields and senior Bryant Orange, midway through the first half to take a 13-8 lead with 11:49 remaining in the opening half.

Orange made 1-of-2 attempts at the charity stripe at the 5:58 mark in the first half to give the Falcons a 19-15 lead before UNC Pembroke went on a 12-0 run to take back the momentum down the stretch in the half. A steal and a breakaway layup by Jihad Wright with 3:20 left in the opening half gave the Braves a 27-19 advantage, marking their largest lead in the first 20 minutes of the contest.

A jumper by Fields with one minute remaining in the half trimmed the Braves' lead to six points as UNC Pembroke carried a 29-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Braves opened the second half with a 10-6 run, capped with a 3-pointer by Giovanni Mack with 16:42 remaining in the game, to take their first double-digit lead in the contest at 39-29. A 3-pointer by Alex Bradley with 9:58 remaining in the second half gave UNC Pembroke a 54-38 advantage, with the 16-point lead marking the Braves' largest lead in the game.

Montevallo responded with an impressive 11-0 run, capped with back-to-back layups by senior Terrell Lipkins, to trim the deficit to 54-49 with 7:36 remaining in the contest.

UNC Pembroke held off the charge by the Falcons and used a 9-3 run, capped with the second dunk in the game by Tyler Kordenbrock with 3:33 left in the second half, to push its lead back to double digits.

Junior Tyler Brough entered the game late in the contest and proceeded to knock down a pair of 3-pointers, with his second attempt from beyond the arc cutting the deficit to 69-65 with 1:09 remaining in the game.

However, the Braves knocked down 11-of-12 attempts at the charity stripe in the final 1:03 in the game to secure the 80-71 victory.

STAT OF THE GAME

Montevallo shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from 3-point range against UNC Pembroke, marking the Falcons' highest shooting percentage from beyond the arc in a game this season.

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

Senior Malik Fields came off the bench for the first time this year and bounced back with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and a 5-of-8 performance at the charity stripe after behind held scoreless for the first time this season in the Falcons' last game against Georgia College.

Sophomore Vaughn Autry tied his career high in rebounds after grabbing five boards for the second game in a row.

UP NEXT

The Falcons will return home to host Young Harris College in a Peach Belt Conference contest Wednesday, Jan. 13 at Trustmark Arena. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m.