SCORE

Montevallo 71, Clayton State 69

RECORD

Montevallo (16-7 overall, 12-4 in Peach Belt Conference)

Clayton State (14-9 overall, 9-7 in Peach Belt Conference)

LOCATION

Trustmark Arena (Montevallo, Alabama)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Montevallo held off a late charge and held onto to its spot atop the Peach Belt Conference overall standings with a 71-69 victory over visiting Clayton State at Trustmark Arena.

The Lakers opened the game with a 19-13 run, capped with a three-point play by Alfonso Davis with 11:58 remaining in the first half.

The Falcons closed out the half with an impressive 32-15 run of their own and carried a 45-34 lead into the locker room at halftime. A layup by senior Terrell Lipkins with 29 seconds remaining in the half gave Montevallo its first double-digit lead in the contest.

Montevallo opened the second half with a 6-0 run, capped with a layup by junior Talan Whitaker, and took its largest lead in the contest at 51-34 with 17:34 remaining in the game.

A dunk by Richard Bell with 6:01 left in the game allowed the Lakers to trim the deficit into single digits for the first time in the second half and cut the Falcons' lead to 61-53.

Lipkins knocked down four consecutive free throws on back-to-back possessions with three minutes left in the game to give Montevallo a 69-58 lead before a furious rally by Clayton State down the stretch.

Dantez Bennamon made a pair of 3-pointers and Saiquan Terry drained a shot from beyond the arc to tie the game at 69-69 with 57 seconds remaining. Following a turnover by the Falcons, Terry missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining and Montevallo pushed the ball up the floor quickly with senior Malik Fields drawing a foul underneath the basket with two seconds left in the game.

Fields stepped to the free-throw line and drained both attempts at the charity stripe to seal the victory.

STAT OF THE GAME

Montevallo shot 80.8 percent (21-of-26) at the free-throw line against Clayton State, marking the second time in three games and fifth time this season the Falcons have made at least 80 percent of their attempts at the charity stripe.

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

Five Falcons finished in double figures scoring for the first time this season in a balanced attack against the Lakers.

Montevallo leads the Peach Belt Conference standings with a 12-4 record in conference play. Columbus State, Young Harris and Lander are all tied for second with a 11-5 mark in conference play.

UP NEXT

Montevallo will travel to Columbus, Georgia to take on Columbus State University in a Peach Belt Conference contest Wednesday, Feb. 16. The Falcons defeated the Cougars 80-75 in the first meeting between the two teams this season. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern/6:30 p.m. Central.