FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Montevallo men's basketball opens the 2025-26 campaign with a dominant 78-62 win over Barry in a neutral site meeting.
 
The game started out slow on the offensive end with Barry leading 8-6 at the first media timeout of the night. The Buccaneers would extend its early lead out to five before Devon McKinnon cut the lead down to 11-8 with 9:28 left until the break. A pair of three's from Bryant James and McKinnon cut Barry's lead down to one possession before James tied the game at 16 with 7:30 on the clock. Just over a minute later, O'Niell Connolly gave Montevallo a 19-16 lead to cap an 8-0 Falcon run with his first points of the night. In the next Falcon possession, McKinnon would stretch Montevallo's lead out to 22-18 with a three-for-three trip to the stripe. BU added back-to-back buckets to knot the game at 22 all with 3:49 remaining in the half. McKinnon nailed back-to-back triples with just under three minute to play in the half to lift Montevallo to a six-point lead before adding a pair of free throws to end the half scoring eight of Montevallo's last 10 points to go into the locker room with a 34-29 lead.
 
The Falcons opened the half on a 5-0 run from Derek Moore to stretch its lead out to 39-29 for its largest lead up to this point before a Barry three ended the run. With 15:20 left to play, Barry cut the Falcons lead down to five but Moore would answered with a with a hook shot on the other end for seven of the nine second half points for UM. Brandon Fussell's first three of the night came with 13:28 on the clock before four-straight free throws from Montevallo gave the Falcons a 52-41 lead at the 12:48 mark. A pair of Barry free throws with 10:11 on the clock cut Montevallo's lead down to single digits for the last time of the night before Sam Duskin's tough finish in the paint stretched the lead out to 58-48. A Fussell midrange fadeaway with 7:47 left gave Montevallo a 12-point advantage before Moore scored six of Montevallo's next eight points to stretch the lead out to 70-58 with 5:50 remaining. Barry would go on to outscore Montevallo 10-8 in the final six minutes but the Falcons' lead would prove too much to overcome giving Montevallo a 78-62 win to start the season 1-0.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 78 | Barry 62
Records: Montevallo 1-0 | Barry 0-1
Location: Rick Case Arena | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
 
GAME NOTES

• Montevallo won the battle in the paint outscoring Barry 38-32 inside.
• The Falcons took advantage of the Buccaneers' turnovers with 19 points off the 21 BU giveaways.
• The Falcons shot the ball well with a 41.5-percent clip from the field while adding an 18-for-19 mark at the charity stripe.
• Barry outrebounded Montevallo 43-to-38 with Barry pulling down 13 offensive rebounds to Montevallo's eight.
• In his collegiate debut, Devon McKinnon scored a total of 22 points on 5-of-10 shooting with a 9-for-9 mark at the stripe while adding four boards and four steals.
• Derek Moore led the Falcons with 23 points on the night on 9-of-16 shooting with four rebounds in 25 minutes.

 
UP NEXT: Montevallo will take on No. 1 Nova Southeastern on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.