MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo men's basketball earned its third-consecutive win, 76-69, on the road against Shorter behind sharp three-point shooting and a trio of dominant performances, Thursday.
For the third straight game, Montevallo's defense held it opponent to under 75 points, once again anchored by dominant rebounding.
In addition to the defensive effort, Montevallo offense was fairly efficient, especially from deep. UM turned in a 14-of-31 performance from long range for one of the top shooting marks of the season.
Montevallo came out of the gates hot, hitting each of its first five three-point attempts, including three from
Jack Henderson, to lead 17-5 at the first media timeout. Less than 10 minutes later, a 16-7 run for the Hawks cut the lead to three, 24-21. With under three minutes to play in the first half, the lead was cut to one.
Brandon Fussell led the Falcons' response with an ensuing layup and three-pointer to ignite a 9-4 run to close the first half. The Falcons led 42-35 at the break.
Just over a minute into the second half, Montevallo quickly extended its lead to double digits with an authoritative dunk from
Aidan Gardiner and a free-throw by
Tyson Sexton. UM would see that lead dissipate, however, over the next seven minutes as Shorter's Carter Selman made it a three-point game, 54-51 with 11:59 to go. The pressure applied by the Hawk's was not ignored by the Falcons though, as Henderson capped an 11-3 run with his fourth three of the game to extend the lead to 11, 65-54 at the 8:02 mark. The Falcons defense held Shorter scoreless for over two minutes during the run. The Hawks cut the lead to as little as four down-the-stretch, but once again the Falcons answered. Henderson's fifth three made it a seven-point game, 72-65 with 3:34 remaining. At the end, free-throw shooting was the dagger and helped the Falcons hold on for the 76-69 win.
Two Falcons scored 20-plus points, led by Fussell with a game-high 25. Glover joined Fussell with 20 of his own. The point-guard duo joined Henderson as the only Falcons to make a three in the win. Glover led UM in that regard with six of his own.
Game Information
Score: Montevallo 76 | Shorter 69
Records: Montevallo 10-13 (9-10 GSC) | Shorter 3-19 (1-17)
Location: Whinthrop-King Centre
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st | The Falcons outscored Shorter 42-35 in the first half as both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor. Two more threes proved to be the difference at the break. Brandon Fussel led UM with 16 in the first.
2nd | Both sides added 34 points in the second half and, like the first half, shot a nearly identical mark from the floor. This time, however, both teams were under 35 percent. UM held a large advantage on the boards in the second-half, 21-12, which led to 11 second-chance points.
GAME NOTES
- Montevallo was tremendous on the glass all night, especially on the defensive end. UM allowed just two offensive rebounds to Shorter and no second-chance points. Montevallo collected 23 boards on the defensive end, nine on the offensive, scored 11 second-chance points and outrebounded Shorter 32-25. Shorter's two offensive rebounds are the least UM has allowed to an opponent this season.
- The Falcons turned in their third-highest mark of the season from three-point range, shooting 14-of-31 for 45.2 percent. UM's made three's is also the third most this season.
- Although UM tallied one of its better three-point totals this season, only three Falcons scored three pointers. The trio of Jack Henderson, Brandon Fussell and Cam Glover combined for 14 threes.
- Reigning Freshman of the Week Brandon Fussell led Montevallo with a game-high 25 points and shot 3-of-8 from deep.
- Cam Glover led UM with six three-pointers made as he went 6-of-12 from deep and finished with 20 points.
- Jack Henderson added a 5-of-8 mark from three and totaled 19 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor.
- Aidan Gardiner led UM with nine rebounds, while freshman Tyson Sexton added eight.
UP NEXT
Montevallo will travel to Christian Brothers on Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Memphis, Tennessee.
