MONTEVALLO, Ala. – For the first time since 2007, Montevallo men's basketball is moving on in the Gulf South Conference tournament after knocking off sixth-seeded West Alabama on Tuesday night.
The Falcons drew first blood but a 6-0 UWA run over three minutes left Montevallo in a 9-4 hole at the 16:54 mark.
Brandon Fussell nailed the first Falcon three of the game with 13:50 left in the half to cut the lead down to 11-9. At the 8:55 mark of the half,
Reese Gurner tallied his first points of the day to knot the game at 15-15 and cap a 6-2 Montevallo run. The Tigers would regain control with back-to-back triples that left the Falcons trailing 25-19 with 5:48 until the break. UWA stretched its lead out to seven, its largest of the half, with 3:42 on the clock but back-to-back finishes at the rim from
Jay Gillispie and Fussell brought Montevallo back within three.
Derek Moore beat the halftime buzzer off an assist from
Camden Andrews to send the game to the half with UWA leading 31-28.
The Tigers opened the half with a pair of threes that stretched its lead out to nine with 18:46 remaining. A quick 6-0 spurt from the Falcons with four points from Moore cut the lead to 37-34 at the 16:28 mark. UWA ended the run with a trip to the line before
Tyson Sexton's first bucket brought Montevallo within two. A transition three from Fussell at the 13:20 mark gave Montevallo its first lead since early in the game at 40-39. UWA would tie the game with a bucket out of the under-12 media timeout before taking a 48-42 lead with consecutive threes. Montevallo brought the game back level at 50-50 with an 8-2 run over the next two minutes. Gurner found the mark from the corner with 7:20 remaining to give Montevallo a 53-52 lead. The Tigers made a final push to take a 55-53 advantage at the 3:21 mark but triples from Sexton and Curry lifted the Falcons to a four-point lead. Following an Andrews finish that gave Montevallo breathing room, Montevallo went 5-6 from the stripe down the stretch to hold on for a 67-60 win.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 67 | UWA 60
Records: Montevallo 20-9 (15-7 GSC) | UWA 13-15 (10-12 GSC)
Location: Central State Bank Arena | Montevallo, Ala.
GAME NOTES
- The last time Montevallo won a Gulf South Conference tournament game was a 66-52 win over Henderson State in the championship game of the 2006-07 tournament.
- The Falcons won the battle inside, outscoring UWA 30-16 in the paint.
- The two sides both pulled down 31 rebounds with Montevallo leading UWA 6-3 in offensive boards.
- Montevallo was led by Brandon Fussell who played all 40 minutes to score 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting while adding three assists and three rebounds.
- Derek Moore tallied 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and a block.
UP NEXT: Montevallo will face second-seeded Valdosta State in the semifinals of the GSC tournament on Saturday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. in Birmingham, Ala.
