FT. Lauderdale, Fla. – Montevallo men's basketball falls to 1-1 after dropping a road matchup with No. 1 Nova Southeastern, 94-78, on Saturday evening.
The Sharks jumped out to an early eight-point lead outscoring Montevallo 12-5 in the opening five minutes before
Tyson Sexton nailed his first three of the night to trim the lead down to five with 14:46 left in the half. Nova Southeastern then went on a 16-0 run to open up a 29-8 lead before
Reese Gurner's first points from beyond the arc ended the run with 9:49 to go before the break. Sexton added his second triple of the first half with 6:42 to play to spark and 8-0 Montevallo run capped by a
Bryant James triple that made the score 35-21 with just over five minutes to play in the half. With 2:31 left in the half, James finished at the rim to trim the Sharks' lead down to 44-29 but Nova Southeastern would outscore UM 6-2 in the final two minutes to take a 50-31 lead into the locker room.
The two sides traded buckets to start the second half with
Devon McKinnon nailing UM's first three of the half at the 18:14 mark before James knocked down a triple on the break to pull the Falcons within 17. The Falcons then went on a 6-2 run to trim the lead down to 60-45 capped by a finish from
Derek Moore at the 15:13 mark. Nova Southeastern took control with a 16-2 run over the next five minutes to extend its lead to 76-46 with 10 minutes left in the half. Montevallo cut into the lead with a quick 7-0 run with a triple from
Brandon Fussell at the 9:56 mark. The Falcons then used a 11-0 run capped by a finish from O'Niell Connolly at the 2:12 mark to bring the score to 86-69 heading down the stretch. Montevallo outscored Nova Southeastern 9-5 in the final two minutes but couldn't overcome the deficit and fell to the top team in the nation.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 78 | No. 1 Nova Southeastern 94
Records: Montevallo 1-1 | No. 1 Nova Southeastern 2-0
Location: Rick Case Arena | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
GAME NOTES
- The Falcons shot the ball well with a 43.5-percent mark from the floor and a 32.2-percent clip from long range while going 14-for-20 at the line.
- Montevallo lost the battle in the paint scoring 32 points inside to 38 from the Sharks.
- Nova Southeastern capitalized on Montevallo's turnovers scoring 29 points off UM's 22 turnovers with Montevallo forcing 12 giveaways and scoring 16 points from those.
- Bryant James lead Montevallo's offense with 15 points on 5-of-12 shoring while adding four assists and six boards.
- Brandon Fussell nearly recorded a double-double scoring 11 points while adding a team-high seven assists.
UP NEXT: Montevallo heads to Americus, Ga. on Saturday, Nov. 22 to take on Georgia Southwestern at 3 p.m.
