VALDOSTA, Ga. - A decisive second half rally by Valdosta State was too much for the Montevallo men's basketball team as the Falcons suffered their first conference loss of the season 79-53 on Saturday evening. The Falcons fell to 5-7 and 3-1 in the Gulf South Conference, while the Blazers improved to 6-5 and 2-2. 

Braxton Bertolette had 15 points to lead UM, while James McNeil contributed 13. 

Cam Hamilton paced VSU with 18 points. Jacolbey Owens added 16 and Mohamed Fofana finished with 15.

The Falcons dug themselves a big hole early, falling behind by 15 points, 23-8. However, UM would rally to trim the deficit to single digits by halftime at 35-27.

The carved into the Blazers lead even further, closing the gap to four after a pair of freethrows by Aaris-Monte Bonds with 15:35 left made the score 43-39. But, VSU answered put the brakes on the Falcons run with a 15-2 run to push their lead back up to double figures at 55-39 with 10:26 remaining. The Blazers pulled away from that point as their lead ballooned to as much as 28 points before the final score was posted.

Next: The Falcons travel to Pensacola to tangle with West Florida on Monday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.