MONTEVALLO, Ala. – For just the second time in program-history, Montevallo Men's Basketball defeated Union, 76-73, on Saturday, Dec. 21.
 
Union opened the game on a 9-2 run with a trio of triples in the first three and a half minutes before Camden Andrews ended the run with a putback at the 16:03 mark. Over the next two minutes, Union stretched its lead out to 10 before Reese Gurner ended a two-minute scoreless stretch for Montevallo with a left-handed finish at the 13:30 mark. Union nailed its fifth triple of the opening 10 minutes to stay out in front, 17-8, with 12:00 left in the half. Montevallo cut it to a one-possession game with a Jaylen Curry three from the top of the key and a Luke Smith triple in transition for a 16-second 6-0 Montevallo run. Smith added another bucket on the next Falcon possession to bring the Falcons within one before Curry nailed a pull-up jumper to give Montevallo a 21-20 lead, the Falcons' first lead of the day, with 8:30 on the clock. Smith knocked down back-to-back threes for the Falcons to extend the lead to 31-22 before Jay Gillispie converted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 34-24 UM advantage. Union finally ended an 18-4 Montevallo run that lasted seven minutes with a three at the 2:32 mark. The Bulldogs ended the half on a 9-4 run to head into the locker room trailing the Falcons 38-34.
 
To open the second half, Curry completed the four-point play after knocking down a triple and drawing the foul to give Montevallo a 44-37 lead early in the second. Just a minute later, Curry hit a turnaround 10-footer to 12^th point of the night. The Falcons went cold over the next two minute with Union pulling within three before Tyson Sexton hit a three in the corner to move Montevallo to a 49-43 lead with 15:18 left. Smith found his fourth three-pointer of the night off a Montevallo steal to give the Falcons an 11-point advantage. With 9:57 on the clock, Curry secured his double-double with his 10^th board of the night. Moments later, Jay Gillispie beat the shot clock to give Montevallo its largest lead of the game at 66-51 with 9:20 left. A pair of Fussell free throws were the lone points in a 15-2 Union run that spanned five minutes to cut Montevallo's lead down to 68-66 with 4:21 left. Sexton ended the Falcons' shooting slump with a triple that lifted Montevallo to a 71-66 lead. Union battled back to tie the game at 73-73 with 1:06 on the clock before Fussell hit what would prove to be the game-winner with 32.7 seconds on the clock. Union saw a chance to send the game to overtime but missed the buzzer beater to give Montevallo its 6^th win in conference play.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 76 | Union 73
Records: Montevallo 10-2 (6-0 GSC) | Union 7-4 (3-2 GSC)
Location: Central State Bank Arena | Montevallo, Ala.
 
GAME NOTES

• The Falcons shot the ball well with a 42-percent shooting clip and a 33.3-percent mark from long range while shooting 89 percent from the charity stripe.
• Union won the battle on the glass 36-33 but Montevallo tallied 12 offensive rebounds to Union's nine.
• Montevallo outscored UU inside with a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint.
• Luke Smith set a career-high with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from deep with a pair of rebounds in 18 minutes of action.
• Jaylen Curry tallied Montevallo's second double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds for a new career-best in rebounding.
• Montevallo took the lead at the 8:30 mark in the first half and never relinquished it save for a 73-73 tie at the 1:06 mark in the second.

 
UP NEXT: The Falcons break for the holidays and return to the floor on Jan. 4 with a road trip to Auburn Montgomery.