SCORE
Clayton State 68
Montevallo 65
RECORDS
Clayton State 17-4 overall (9-3 in the Peach Belt Conference)
Montevallo 4-16 overall (1-12 in the Peach Belt Conference)
LOCATION
Trustmark Arena, Montevallo, Alabama
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Montevallo Falcons took the Clayton State Lakers down to the wire in a 68-65 defeat on Monday night. Montevallo had four players score in double figures in tonight's loss.
In the first period of play, the Falcons controlled the flow of the game and slowed the game down against a Clayton State team that likes to play up-tempo and score in transition. Even though the Falcons were held to just eight points offensively in the first period, their defense also shut down Clayton State. The Lakers were only able to score 13 points in the period and led by as much as seven points, their largest lead of the game.
Both teams continued to battle in the second period as both sides tried to establish dominance in the paint. Ashley Dunstan went 2-of-4 from the floor in the period but her physical play put her at the line where she was 5-of-6. Dunstan's 10 points in the period were also aided by the play of D'Miyah Foster who found open lanes to cut to the basket. Foster scored six points on 3-of-3 shooting in the period.
The Falcons took the lead into halftime 31-29 after outscoring the Lakers 23-16.
The Falcons came out of the break and picked up right where they left off. Montevallo continued their aggressive play inside and scored six second-chance points and outrebounded the Lakers 19-10. Montevallo led by as much as six points in the period before Clayton State rallied back to take a 46-45 lead into the final period.
In the fourth period, the Falcons and the Lakers saw the lead change hands 10 times. Montevallo dominated the paint, outscoring the Lakers 10-4 in the post. However, Clayton State took advantage of the Falcons sloppy play and scored 11 points off Montevallo turnovers.
The Falcons took a one point lead into the final minute of the game. Clayton State's Dejoun Dennard scored the go-ahead basket when she hit from behind the arc to give the Lakers a 65-63 lead with 37 seconds remaining. A mishandled inbounds pass led to a Laker layup and put them ahead 63-67.
Trailing 68-63 with 18 seconds left, Foster drove the lane and hit a layup to pull the Falcons to within three points of the lead. After the Lakers missed a pair of free throws that would have put the game away, the Falcons put the ball in the hands of Morgan Smith for the final shot. Smith's three-point shot was long and hit the back of the rim. The Falcons were able to get the rebound but time expired as Clayton State escaped with the 68-65 victory.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Falcons outscored the Lakers 30-20 in the paint in tonight's game. Montevallo also had four players score in double figures with Foster, Smith, Dunstan and Albanellys Perez all hitting the double digit mark.
UP NEXT
The Falcons hit the road to take on Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, February 4th, with tipoff scheduled for 12:30 pm CT.
