MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo men's basketball falls to 7-4 in conference play after a 68-64 loss to West Florida on Saturday evening.
 
The two sides traded buckets in a sluggish start with the game tied at 4-4 after the first four minutes. At the 13:27 mark, Jaylen Curry put the Falcons out in front with a posterizing dunk on off an offensive rebound before Derek Moore tallied a slam of his own in transition to give the Falcons a 12-8 lead. The junior transfer followed up with a triple on the next Falcon possession to give UM its largest lead of the day at 15-8. Out of the under-twelve media timeout, West Florida went on a 19-2 run over the next four minutes to gain control at 29-17 with 5:48 left in the half. Curry finally ended the run with a putback off his own miss with 4:58 on the clock. UWF took a 16-point lead over Montevallo with just a minute left in the half with sixth three of the half before Curry eclipsed double figures with a fast-break three that sent Montevallo into the locker room trailing 39-28.
 
Out of the half, Montevallo sliced into the Argos' 11-point lead with an 11-3 run capped by a Camden Andrews' three-point play that left the Falcons trailing 44-39 after the first three minutes of the half. Moore cut the lead down to one-possession on the next Falcon shot before UWF pushed the lead back out to five ahead of the media timeout. Back-to-back UWF baskets at the rim stretched the Falcons' deficit to 52-43 at the 12:17 mark. A quick 7-0 run from the Falcons with points from newcomers Max Gardner, Luke Smith and Bryson Andrews made it a one-possession game with 8:11 to play. Moore tied the game at 55-55 with a finish at the rim for the first time since the 9:00 mark in the first half. The Argos went back up by four with a trip to the charity stripe just a minute later before Brandon Fussell brought UM back within two at the 3:54 mark. A 5-2 run from UWF pushed its lead back to 68-61 with just 43 seconds to play. At the buzzer, Andrews made his lone three of the day to make the final score 68-64 as the Falcons slipped to 11-6 overall and 7-4 in conference play.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 64 | West Florida 68
Records: Montevallo 11-6 (7-4 GSC) | West Florida 5-12 (4-7 GSC)
Location: Central State Bank Arena | Montevallo, Ala.
 
GAME NOTES

• The Falcons won the battle in paint with 34 points to 26 from the Argos.
• West Florida owned a 46-38 advantage on the glass while pulling down 12 offensive rebounds to Montevallo's 11.
• Montevallo won the turnover battle with just nine giveaways to UWF's 14.
• Derek Moore led the Falcons with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
• Jaylen Curry recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds, while adding three blocks and two assists.

 
UP NEXT: Montevallo heads out for a road trip to Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday, Jan. 23 with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.