MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo men's basketball heads out for the final two games of the regular season.
 
So Far This Season…
Montevallo enters the weekend in a battle for the third seed in the Gulf South Conference tournament with a 13-7 conference record and a 17-9 overall mark. The Falcons opened the season with a 4-2 record in nonconference play with wins over Barry and Spring Hill highlighting UM's early success. Montevallo opened conference play with a pair of wins at home over Lee and Trevecca before heading out for road wins over Delta State and Mississippi College. Montevallo closed 2024 with a 6-0 conference record after topping Christian Brothers and Union in late December. The Falcons struggled to find their footing after the break with a 1-5 record in the first six games of the new year with the lone win coming over West Alabama on the road on Jan. 11. Montevallo rebounded with a 58-50 road win over Lee before defeating MC, 83-77, on Jan. 30. The Falcons dropped a matchup with Delta State, 90-85, before topping Union, 63-60, to kick off a four-game win streak. Montevallo moved on to take an 81-70 win over CBU on Feb. 8 before topping AUM, 78-68, on Feb. 15. The Falcons last win came against UWA on Feb. 20 before the Falcons fell to No. 3 UAH, 96-88, on Feb. 22.
 
Montevallo ranks fifth in the GSC with an average of 79.2 points per game on a fourth-ranked 46.8-percent from the field while shooting 33.1-percent from deep and 75.2 percent from the line. The Falcons average 35.0 rebounds per game with an average of 11.3 offensive rebounds per game while dishing out 12.23 assists per game. Defensively, Montevallo allows 75.8 points per game on 45.6-percent shooting and 36.0 percent from deep while forcing 13.3 turnovers per game with an average of 8.00 steals.
 
Brandon Fussell highlights Montevallo's scoring with an average of 17.0 points per game on 47.6-percent shooting and 37 percent from deep while leading the team with an average of 3.53 assists per game. Jaylen Curry ranks second on the squad with 16.4 points per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and pulling down 6.0 rebounds per game. Derek Moore leads the Falcons on the glass with 6.1 rebounds per game while scoring 14.1 points per contest on 57.6-percent shooting.
 
Scouting West Florida: WATCH | LIVE STATS
West Florida heads into the final weekend with a 7-19 overall record and a 6-14 mark in conference play looking to sneak into the final spot in the GSC tournament. The Argos opened the season with a 1-5 mark in nonconference action with the lone win coming against Fort Valley State on Nov. 9. UWF began conference play with an 0-3 record before picking up the first GSC win over Lee on Dec. 19. The Argos then dropped a meeting with Trevecca before adding two wins over MC and DSU to open 2025. The Argos snapped another three-game skid with a 68-64 win over Montevallo before going on a four-game losing streak to close January and open February. UWF added an 84-71 win over Lee on Feb. 8 before falling to MC and DSU in back-to-back game. The Argos last win came on Feb. 20 on the road at Union before UWF fell to CBU, 71-66, in its most recent outing.
 
UWF averages 72.4 points per game on a team shooting mark of 44.8 percent while shooting 36.7 percent from deep and 68.8 percent from the line. On the glass, UWF averages 35.1 rebounds per game with an average of 10.0 offensive rebounds per game while dishing out 11.73 assists. Defensively, UWF allows 76.5 points per game on 45.2-perfcent shooting while forcing 12.2 turnovers per game on 7.2 steals.
 
Shay Davis leads UWF's scoring with an average of 14.7 points per game on 46.9-percent shooting and 44.8 percent from deep while Elijah Wyche ranks second on the squad with an average of 11.5 points per game on 53.7-percent shooting and an average of 4.5 boards per game. Zondrick Garrett leads the team on the glass with an average of 6.2 rebounds per game while scoring 8.3 points per game.
 
Series History Against West Florida:
The Falcons lead the all-time series against the Argonauts with a 30-19 record since January 1998. Since rejoining the GSC, Montevallo is 7-9 against West Florida with the Falcons dropping the initial two meetings in 2017 and 2018. Most recently, Montevallo fell to West Florida, 68-64, on the road on Jan. 18, 2025.
 
Scouting Valdosta State: WATCH
Valdosta State enters the weekend after locking in the No. 2 seed in the GSC Tournament with a 17-3 conference record and a 22-4 mark overall. The Blazers opened the season with a 5-1 mark in nonconference action with the lone loss coming against Morehouse College on Nov. 12. VSU opened conference play with a 92-82 win over UWA before falling to UAH on the road. The Blazers added three-straight home wins over West Florida, Trevecca and Lee to close 2024 with a 4-1 conference record. VSU opened 2025 with a pair of road wins over MC and DSU before topping Union, 102-79, on Jan. 9. VSU added a win over Christian Brothers before topping the Falcons and AUM on the road. Valdosta State continued its hot streak with home win over UWA on Jan. 25 before falling to UAH in overtime on Jan. 27. VSU began February with back-to-back road wins over Lee and TNU before falling to Delta State, 96-92, on Feb. 13. VSU went on to add wins over MC and Union before topping CBU, 93-82, in its most recent outing.
 
Valdosta State leads the league with an average of 93.3 points per game on a third-best 47.0-percent shooting clip with a 34.7-percent mark from long range and 76.5 percent from the stripe. The Blazers average 36.3 rebounds per game with a second-best 12.6 offensive rebounds per game while dishing out 14.73 assists per game. Defensively, VSU allows 81.9 points per game on 45.9-percent shooting while forcing 18.3 turnovers per game on a league-high 11.35 steals per game.
 
Valdosta State is led by Carlos Hart with an average of 19.0 points per game on 49.8-percent shooting and 77.3 percent from the line while leading the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. Braxton Williams ranks second on the squad with 14.5 points per game on 42.5-percent shooting while averaging 4.1 rebounds per game. Drew Mills averages 13.9 points per game on a team-high 52-percent shooting with a 39.1-percent clip from deep.
 
Series History Against Valdosta State:
Since the Falcons joined Division II, Montevallo is 17-25 against the Blazers since the series began on Jan. 19, 1998. In the 15 games since Montevallo rejoined the GSC, the Falcons are 5-10 against VSU. The Falcons took back-to-back matchups against the Blazers between the 2022-23 season and the 2023-24 season. Most recently, Montevallo fell to Valdosta State, 76-73, at home on Feb. 22, 2024.