CLEVELAND, Miss.  – The University of Montevallo men's basketball team earned its seventh conference win of the year with an 87-78 victory over Delta State, in Cleveland, Miss., Thursday.
 

Outside of the first two minutes, the Falcons controlled the contest and led throughout. After opening in a 4-0 hole, three-pointers from James McNeil and Braxton Bertolette gave Montevallo a 6-4 lead – one they would hold the rest of the way. Another three from McNeil and a Jaylon Tharpe jumper capped the 11-0 responding run for the Falcons at the 14:44 mark in the first half. The Falcons continued to click on the offensive end and led by as many as 13 in the opening half following a second-chance bucket from McNeil with 1:03 to go. UM led by 12 at the break, 44-32, and outrebounded Delta State 22-9 in the first.
 
Delta State outscored Montevallo in the second half 46-43 and opened on a 14-9 run to start, cutting the lead to nine, 55-46 with 13:12 to go. Montevallo responded with an 8-2 run to push its lead to 15 following a Mason Shifflett three-pointer. With 5:18 remaining, Shifflett added another bucket to give the Falcons its largest lead of the game, 75-59. The Statesman cut the lead to as little as seven the rest of the way but the Falcons held on, winning 87-78.
 
Success at the free-throw line, rebounding and turnovers proved to be the difference. Montevallo finished 11-of-14 from the charity stripe, compared to a 6-of-13 mark for the home side. UM also won the rebounding battle 30-28 and the turnover battle 11-18.

A quartet of Falcons scored in double figures as graduate guard Braxton Bertolette led the way with 26 points. Senior James McNeil added 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go along with a team-high six assists. Mason Shifflett totaled 19 points and went 5-of-7 from three. Jaylon Tharpe added 12 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds – alongside Bertolette – with seven.

With the win, the Falcons are 9-12 overall and 7-10 in conference place – in a three-way tie for eighth.
 
Game Information

Score: Montevallo 87, Delta State 78
Records: Montevallo (9-12, 7-10 GSC), Delta State 6-14 (5-12)
Location: Cleveland, Miss | Walter Sillers Coliseum
 
 

GAME NOTES
 

• Braxton Bertolette scored a game-high 26 points while James McNeil chipped in 20 on 8-of-9 shooting from the field.
• Mason Shifflett added 19 points while Jaylon Tharpe totaled 12 to round out a group of four double-digit scorers.
• Montevallo outrebounded Delta State 22-9 in the first half but 30-28 overall. Bertolette and Thrape each led UM with seven boards apiece.
• Turnovers made a major difference in the outcome as the Falcons won the turnover battle, 11-18, and scored 14 points from turnovers.
• Free-throw shooting was a big factor as Montevallo finished 11-of-14 from the charity stripe while Delta State shot 6-of-13.
• Montevallo shot 52.5 percent from the floor (32-of-61) and 42.9 percent from three (12-of-28). Delta State made 16 threes in the contest and shot 43.2 percent from beyond the arc (16-of-37) and 49.1 percent from the field (28-of-57).
• Montevallo totaled 17 assists in the contest, including a team-high six from McNeil. Shifflett and Aidan Gardiner each added four.

 
Up Next: Montevallo will continue its stay in the Magnolia State with a weekend matchup against Mississippi College on Saturday, Jan. 26