BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Following a historic performance last week, University of Montevallo men's basketball freshman guard, Brandon Fussell, has been named the Gulf South Conference Player and Freshman of the Week, as announced by the league, Tuesday.
 
This is the fourth Freshman of the Week award for Fussell in 2023-24 and the first Player of the Week honor.
 
The Guntersville, Alabama native swept the conference awards this week after averaging 36 points, 4.0 three-pointers made, 3.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. On the week, he shot 61 percent from the field (25-of-41), 57.1 percent from three-point range (8-of-14), and a perfect 14-for-14 from the free-throw line.
 
In the second game of the week, Fussell made his mark and proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the league by scoring a career-high 50 points. His 50-point outing tied the Montevallo school record, tied for the sixth most points scored by an individual in GSC history and is the second-highest scoring total for any player in NCAA Division II this season. Additionally, Fussell became the first freshman to score 50 points in Montevallo and GSC history.
 
Fussell's 50-point performance was spectacular in many ways. In a must-win game for the Falcons to keep GSC tournament hopes alive, Fussell helped UM crawl out of a 37-30 deficit at halftime with 39 of the team's 61 total points in the second half. The Falcons opened the second half on a 15-0 run, that included nine points from Fussell, to take a 45-37 lead. Following a bucket by Aidan Gardiner at the 12:10 mark, Fussell would be the only Falcon to score until 1:29 remaining. At 10:35 Fussell scored which started a string of 25 straight points he scored for the team, including 12 without missing a shot, over just a little more than nine minutes of play, to hold off an Argonaut comeback. He notched his 49^th and 50^th point from the free-throw line with three seconds left to push UM to its final score of 91-83. In addition, he shot 69 percent from the field (16-of-23), (6-of-9) from three, and 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. His free-throw shooting mark is the third-best in school history.
The 50-point game for Fussell against West Florida is tied for the school record with Braxton Bertolette who set the mark on Feb. 25, 2023, against AUM.
 
In the first game of the week, Fussell led the Falcons in scoring in a hard-fought 76-73 loss to Valdosta State. He finished with 22 points, five assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Fussell went 7-of-11 from the floor for 63 percent, 2-of-5 from three for 40 percent, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
 
Fussell and the Falcons return to action on Saturday, Mar. 2, in the final regular-season game of the year against AUM, at 4 p.m. in Central State Bank Arena.