PENSACOLA, Fla. - Montevallo guard
Braxton Bertolette drilled a 3-pointer to send the game against West Florida into overtime, but when
Aaris-Monte Bonds' layup on the buzzer missed, Argonauts escaped with a 75-74 win. The Falcons fell to 5-8 and 3-2 in the Gulf South Conference, while UWF improved to 11-1 and 5-0 in the GSC. It was the fourth loss this season by five points or less and the second in overtime.
The Argonauts led 26-19 at halftime, but UM outscored the home team 48-41 in the second half to force the extra session. The Falcons trailed by as much as 12 points in the first half. A layup by Wendell Matthews gave UWF a 37-25 lead with 14:13 left. The Falcons used a 19-7 run to draw even. A layup by Bonds tied the game at 44-all with 8:19 remaining. Bertolette gave the Falcons a brief 45-44 lead with a freethrow with 7:22 left.
The Argos regained the lead and looked to be about to put the game away, holding a 61-56 advantage with only 54 seconds left. But, a few seconds later, Bertolette tied the game at 62 with a 3-pointer. A pair of UWF freethrows had the Falcons looking up at a 67-64 deficit with 13 seconds left. A missed 3-pointer by James McNeil went out of bounds off of UWF, leaving the Falcons with a glimmer of hope. After a UM timeout Bertolette hit the game-tying triple to send the game into overtime.
Bertolette scored the first four points for the Falcons in overtime and with 4:02 left, UM led 71-69. Back to back baskets by UWF had the Argos on top 73-71 with 2:28 left. The Falcons flew back ahead, 74-73, on a 3-pointer by
Xavier Malcom with 2:09 left. The Argos eased back in front with a layup by Wendell Matthews with 1:37 left.
After a missed layup by Bertolette, the Argos had possession with less than a minute left. However, Bonds renewed hope to the Falcons forcing a turnover with 33 seconds left. With five seconds left,
Mason Shifflett fired a shot from deep that was off the mark, but in the scramble, the ball went out of bounds off of UWF setting the stage for Bonds dramatic opportunity. However, it wasn't in the cards for the Falcons.
Bertolette finished the game with 20 points. McNeil added 17 points, while Bonds tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds. Shifflett also finished with double-figures, contributing 11 points.
Next up: The Falcons have a break before returning to action on Jan. 2 against Shorter University at Trustmark Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
