MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The University of Montevallo men's basketball team will return to the McChesney Student Activity on Tuesday, Dec. 19, for a non-conference clash with Huntingdon College at 5 p.m.

Tuesday's game marks the third game in five days as the Falcons defeated No. 3/4 West Georgia on Friday, Dec. 15 72-69, and fell to UAB in an exhibition Sunday, Dec. 18, 92-56.

With conference play on pause until New Year's Eve, the Falcons face Huntingdon in its final non-conference game of the year and its second consecutive non-Division II contest.

The Falcons enter the non-conference clash at 2-8 overall on the year while the Hawks are an even 6-6 overall.

Tuesday's game is a regular season matchup for the Falcons but an exhibition for the Hawks.

Game Information/Coverage

Matchup: Montevallo (2-8, 2-5 GSC) at Huntingdon (6-6, 0-0 USAS)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 19, 5 p.m.
Where: Montevallo, AL | McChesney Student Activity Center

Watch: FloSports
Live Stats

GAME NOTES

• Huntingdon, who plays in the Division III USA South Conference, is the first D-III matchup for UM since facing LaGrange College in 2021. The 112-78 win was vacated by the NCAA.
• Montevallo is 2-2 at home this season. Three of UM's four home games have been decided by 10 points or fewer, with the exception being a 96-81 win over Shorter.
• Although it was an exhibition, Sunday's game against UAB marked the first time this season Montevallo featured only one player in double-digits. The Falcons have totaled at least three players with double-digit points in every game this season except for the 10-point loss to Lee when only two players reached double-figures.
• Following Tuesday's game UM will take a 12-day break for the holidays before returning to action against Union on Dec. 31, at 4 p.m. in Montevallo, Alabama.
• Montevallo is looking for its third win overall and the second consecutively. Last season UM won back-to-back games on only two occasions.
   

So Far This Season…
 
Montevallo (2-8, 2-5 GSC) snapped a three-game losing skid to notch the second win of the season against No.3/4 West Georgia in thrilling fashion. A late three-pointer from UM's Justin Graham proved to be the difference as UM earned its second-highest-ranked win in program history, 72-69. The highest-ranked win came in 2010 when the Falcons took down No. 1 Augusta, 81-77.

Montevallo has faced a brutal slate to begin the season with four of its first five opponents receiving national recognition in either of the three NCAA Division II Top-25 polls at some point this season. According to Masseyratings.com, UM's strength of schedule ranks 79^th out of 297 in NCAA Division II. In the latest D2 CSC South Region Media Poll, six of UM's first 10 opponents are ranked or receiving votes: No. 1 Nova Southeastern (7-0), No. 2 West Georgia (9-1) No. 4 West Alabama (7-2), No. 6 Lee (5-1), No. 8 UAH (6-3) and RV Clark-Atlanta (6-2). Additionally, Montevallo has faced two of the top-three ranked teams in the nation: current No. 1 Nova Southeastern and No. 3/4 West Georgia.
 
Defense has been a struggle for the Falcons this season, but the unit had its best outing against West Georgia. Montevallo held the Wolves to their lowest point total of the year, 69, which is also the fewest allowed by the Falcons this season.

UM's offense has been inconsistent this season but remains one of the best in the Gulf South Conference at 84.2 points per game – second in the league.
 
Montevallo continues to be one of the better three-point shooting teams across the Gulf South with 10.2 made threes per game.
 
The Falcon's fast-paced play style has led to the second-most forced turnovers in the conference with 168 at a rate of 16.6 per game, good enough for 25^th in D-II. The forced turnovers have dropped a bit over the last three outings, but the Falcons have recorded fewer turnovers than their average in three of the last four games. Montevallo recorded its second-fewest turnovers with 11 in the win over West Georgia. The fewest was 10 against Shorter, UM's only other win of the year.
The fast-paced style has not only impacted UM's defensive play but on offense as well with 16.56 fastbreak points per game which ranks 20^th in Division II.
 

Scouting Huntingdon:
 
 Huntingdon enters its exhibition clash at an even 6-6 on the season with conference play on the horizon come Jan. 5.  The Hawks come to Montevallo following back-to-back losses to Bob Jones, a National Christian College Athletic Association program in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
The Hawks score at a rate of 82.2 points per game and have reached the 90-plus points mark just once; last time out against Bob Jones.
On the defensive end, the Hawks are allowing 80.2 points per game and have given up over 100 points twice; 109 on Dec. 3 against Rhodes and 101 on Dec. 15 to Bob Jones.
 
Series History Against Huntingdon
 
Montevallo and Huntingdon have faced off a total of 30 times previously, all coming in the 60's and 70's when UM was part of NAIA. Montevallo leads the all-time series 20-10 with the last meeting coming on Feb. 19, 1979, in which the Falcons won 78-57 at home.
This is the 31^st meeting of all time but the first in nearly 44 years despite being separated by just 68 miles.
 

 
Player Highlights Montevallo:
 
10 games into the year, Jaylen Curry has established himself as Montevallo's leading scorer with 15.3 points per game. The sophomore forward who joined the Falcons from Wallace State Community College this season, has scored in double-figures seven times this season, including a career-high 32 against Lee. Curry's 32-point outing is the most points a Falcon has scored this season.
Curry is one of three Falcons averaging in double-figures this season, ahead of fellow transfers Cam Glover (14.2 ppg) and Jack Henderson (13.2 ppg). Junior Justin Graham, who tallied a career-high 31 against Clark-Atlanta and led UM with 21 in the win over West Georgia, is just behind the trio at 9.9 points per game.
Henderson, an Albuquerque, New Mexico native, leads Montevallo on the boards this year with 5.2 per game.
Glover, a junior transfer from Birmingham-Southern, is UM's leading sharpshooter with 2.5 three-pointers made per game. The Trussville, Alabama native has scored in double-figures a team-high eight times this year, including a season-high 28 against Shorter and added 18 in the win over West Georgia.
Graham, a forward from Colorado Springs, Colorado, scored a team-high 18 in the UAB exhibition as he went 3-of-4 from downtown. In the regular season, he has made a season-high two three-pointers twice.
Freshman point guard Brandon Fussell leads Montevallo with 2.9 assists per game to go along with 7.7 points per contest.
 
Player Highlights Huntingdon:
 
The Hawks are led by senior guard Max Gardner at 15.5 points per game this year as he is also shooting 53.3 percent from deep.
 
Huntingdon features two 15-point scorers per game; along with Gardner, Freshman BJ Brown has added 15.1 points per game off the bench so far.
 
Gardner and junior Randall Davis are the Hawks' leaders on the glass with 6.4 boards a game apiece.
 
Additionally, Brown leads Huntingdon with 4.6 assists per game.