PENSACOLA, Fla. – Montevallo men's basketball held off West Florida on the road to take an 86-81 victory in the penultimate game of the season.
 
In the first three minutes, Derek Moore scored four of the Falcons' first six points before Brandon Fussell knocked down a triple to give Montevallo a 9-6 lead early. Over the next two minutes, the Falcons saw six quick bench points to go up by six before Camden Andrews nailed a step-back three to cap an 8-0 Montevallo run and give the Falcons a 22-13 lead. The Argos ended the run and cut the lead down to five before Moore snapped the spurt with a finish in transition. A Jaylen Curry post finish lifted the Falcons to a 26-17 lead but the Argos wouldn't back down and put up four quick points to trim the lead again. Andrews' second triple of the game with 5:38 to play pushed the Falcons back to an eight-point advantage. Curry's first three of the game came with 4:03 on the clock before the junior and Aidan Gardiner added back-to-back dunks to give Montevallo a 39-30 lead with 1:42 to go. Off a UM offensive rebound in the final minute of the half, Fussell found a wide-open Jay Gillispie who laid it in for a 41-36 Montevallo lead heading into the break.
 
In the first five minutes of the second half, Fussell scored all 10 Montevallo points as the sophomore stretch UM's advantage to 51-41. West Florida used a 10-0 run with six-straight free throws to tie the game at 51 apiece with 13:39 to go. The Falcons used a pair of trips to the line to stretch the lead back to four before Reese Gurner nailed a pull-up jumper with 11:18 on the clock to give UM a 59-53 lead. Moore's mid-range jumper pushed the lead out to eight with 10:47 to play before the Argos cut the lead down to 63-61 with 8:29 to go. The Falcons again made a run, this time outscoring UWF 9-2, to regain control after another Andrews three with 5:44 left. With 3:04 on the clock, UWF cut it to a one-possession game but back-to-back threes from Curry and Fussell gave Montevallo an 80-73 lead. Fussell scored six points in the final 32 seconds to give Montevallo its 86-81 win over West Florida.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 86 | West Florida 81
Records: Montevallo 18-9 (14-7 GSC) | West Florida 7-20 (6-15 GSC)
Location: UWF Field House | Pensacola, Fla.
 
GAME NOTES

• Brandon Fussell scored 30 points on 9-of-20 shooting and 8-of-8 from the stripe for the sophomore's third-straight 20-point game and the second 30-point outing in the last three games.
• The Falcons shot the ball well with a 48.4-percent clip from the field while shooting 36 percent from deep and 93.8 percent from the stripe.
• Montevallo won the rebounding battle 36-28 with the Falcons pulling down 13 offensive boards that lead to 19 second-chance points.
• Montevallo will play No. 9 Valdosta State on Saturday, March 1 for the No. 3 seed in the Gulf South Conference tournament.

 
UP NEXT: Montevallo heads to No. 9 Valdosta State on Saturday, March 1 to take on the Blazers at 3 p.m. in the final game of the season.