HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The University of Montevallo men's basketball team defeated Tampa in come-from-behind fashion on Friday, 77-74, to open the season 1-0 and give Head Coach Anthony Komara his first win.
An and-one bucket with three seconds remaining from Aidan Gardiner broke a 74-74 tie to give the Falcons its first win of the year, 77-74.
With 4:28 to go in the contest the Falcons trailed 70-58 before using a 19-4 run to secure the win. Down 10 with 3:10 remaining, freshman MJ Jones scored a layup to cut it to single-digits, before drilling a three-pointer. A three-from
James McNeil and back-to-back jumpers from Jones extended a 10-0 run and tied the contest, 72-72, with 1:23 to go. Jones scored the 12th straight unanswered point for the Falcons with 33 seconds remaining to lift UM ahead 74-72. A quick bucket from Tampa tied the score before an and-one layup from Gardiner, assisted by Jones, put Montevallo up 77-74.
Jones, a local product out of Pelham High School and a native of Montevallo, Ala. led the team with 26 points in his first regular season game as a Falcon. The freshman finished 11-15 from the field and scored nine points on the closing 15-2 run in the final 3:10.
"MJ showed a ton of poise tonight in a really high level basketball game," said Komara. "I was really proud of his resiliency after things didn't go his way early. That's very uncommon for a player his age. He's going to have a special career here."
At halftime the Falcons trailed Tampa 34-26 and flipped the script in the second half, outscoring the Spartans 51-40.
"All the credit goes to our guys. Nothing came easy tonight. We weren't shooting it well. We were giving up easy baskets defensively. We were down 10 in the last media timeout and our guys just kept fighting and scratching and clawing and found a way to get the win in the end", added Komara" "They never put their head down and never stopped being positive. I'm so proud of this group and excited to see us continue to grow moving forward."
Game Information
Score: Montevallo 77, Tampa 74
Records: Montevallo (1-0) Tampa (0-1)
Location: Spragins Hall | Huntsville, Ala.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1
st | Montevallo trailed by eight at halftime despite shooting nearly 30 percent from three. A large rebounding advantage, 27-14, aided Tampa in the first 20 minutes to a 34-26 halftime lead.
2
nd | The Falcons shot 57.6 percent in the second in route to 51 points, nearly doubling the first-half output. Um also held a narrow edge, 15-14, on the boards in the final 20 minutes.
GAME NOTES
- Montevallo shot 31 percent from three-point range in the contest while holding Tampa to just 22.2 percent.
- The Spartans outrebounded UM 41-29 and held a 14-7 advantage in second chance points.
- UM won the turnover battle, narrowly, 9-8, but Tampa scored 16 points from turnovers while the Falcons added just 10.
- Three-point shooting carried the falcons as Braxton Bertolette drilled three of UM's nine total makes from downtown on his way to 17 points.
- MJ jones scored a game-high 26 points on 73 percent shooting from the floor.
- Jones, freshman Tyler Moore and James McNeil each led the squad with two assists apiece.
- Mason Shifflett led the Falcons with a team-high seven rebounds.
Up Next: The Falcons will continue the Bill Penney Toyota Crossover Classic on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. against Saint Leo.
Stay up to date with Montevallo men's basketball online at montevallofalcons.com and on social media @montevallombb
