MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo men's basketball is set for a two-game road trip at West Florida and Valdosta State this weekend.
OFFICIAL SCHEDULE
Montevallo heads into the weekend with a 10-5 overall record and a 6-3 mark in conference play after opening the season with a 3-2 record in nonconference action. The Falcons opened Gulf South Conference action with a loss to Lee on the road before going on a four-game win streak kicked off by a 90-60 win over Trevecca Nazarene. Montevallo went on to take a pair of home wins over Delta State and Mississippi College on Dec. 11 and 13, respectively. Montevallo closed its win streak with a road win over Christian Brothers, 75-54, on Dec. 18. The Falcons then dropped a road meeting at Union before picking up a nonconference win over Point on Dec. 31. In a return from the holiday break, Montevallo topped Auburn Montgomery, 89-62, on Jan. 4 before picking up its first win over UAH since 2022 with a 71-68 win on Jan. 8. Most recently, Montevallo fell to No. 14 West Alabama, 71-61, on Jan. 10.
The Falcons are averaging 77.1 points per game on a 45.5-percent shooting mark from the squad while shooting 33.8 percent from long range and adding a 73.1-percent clip from the free throw line. On the boards, Montevallo pulls down an average of 37.3 rebounds per game with 9.3 offensive boards per game. Montevallo also posts an average of 15.7 assists per game for the second-highest mark in the GSC. Defensively, Montevallo allows 67.2 points per game on a 39.5-percent clip from the field and 32.5 percent from three-point range. The Falcons also rank second in the league with an average of 9.8 steals per game while forcing 15.2 turnovers.
Derek Moore is the conference's third-leading scorer with an average of 17.5 points per game while leading the league with a 63.9-percent shooting mark and ranking seventh among GSC leaders with an average of 6.8 rebounds per game.
Brandon Fussell ranks second on the team with an average of 16.1 points per game while leading the conference with an average of 5.8 assists per game while adding a GSC No. 2 mark of 2.1 steals per game.
Devon McKinnon is Montevallo's third double-digit scorer with an average of 11.5 points per game on a 37.2-percent field goal mark.
Valdosta State heads into Thursday's matchup with a 9-6 overall record and a 4-5 mark in conference after opening the season with a 3-2 mark in nonconference action. The Blazers opened the conference schedule with a loss to West Alabama before topping No. 8 UAH on Dec. 6. Valdosta State then dropped four conference games at West Florida on Dec. 13 before falling to TNU on Dec. 18. The Blazers went on to drop meetings at Lee before hosting Mississippi College in a 103-89 loss on Jan. 2. The Blazers returned to the win column with a Jan. 4 win over Delta State before adding an overtime win over Union on the road. Most recently, Valdosta State took a 75-69 win over Christian Brothers on Jan. 10.
Valdosta State leads the GSC with an average of 94.3 points per game on a 47.6-percent clip from the floor while shooting 35.6 percent from deep and 73.3 percent from the free throw line. On the glass, the Blazers average 39.1 rebounds per game while leading the GSC with an average of 15.2 offensive rebounds per game. Valdosta State also tops the GSC with an average of 16.60 assists per game while averaging just 12.1 turnovers per game. Defensively, VSU allows 89.3 points per game on 47.9-percent shooting and 36.1 percent from deep while forcing 17.2 turnovers per game on an average of 10.3 steals per game.
Valdosta State is led by Drew Mills who scores 16.3 points per game on a 50.0-percent shooting and 75.4 percent from deep while also averaging 5.9 rebounds per game. Blaise Wallace ranks second on the team with an average of 12.5 points per game on a 53.7-percent shooting mark while averaging a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game which ranks fifth among conference leaders. Peter McKey (11.8), Lucas Brown Jr. (11.5) and Devon Rainey (11.2) round out Valdosta State's double-digit scorers.
West Florida heads into the weekend with a 14-3 overall record and a 7-2 mark in conference play as the No. 2 team in the GSC standings. The Argos opened the season with a 5-1 record in nonconference action before falling to UAH in the conference opener. The Argos hosted UWA on Dec. 6 for a 60-57 loss before picking up a home win over Valdosta State on Dec. 13 to sparks a seven-game winning streak. West Florida tallied a 65-61 road win over Lee before topping Trevecca Nazarene, 82-78, on Dec. 20. UWF opened the new year with a home win over Delta State on Jan. 2 before adding a 90-77 win over Mississippi College on Jan. 4. In the Argos' most recent road trip, UWF picked up a 72-60 win over Christian Brothers on Jan. 8 before adding an 86-72 win over Union on Saturday, Jan. 10.
The Argos average a total of 89.4 points per game on a 48.6-percent shooting mark while shooting 41.8 percent from three-point range and 77.8 percent from the free throw line. On the boards, West Florida averages 39.2 rebounds per game with an average of 12.1 offensive rebounds per game while dishing out 14.5 assists per game with just 11.1 turnovers. Defensively, West Florida allows 72.2 points per game on a 41.2-percent shooting mark while allowing just a 29.7-percent clip from long range. The Argos are averaging 6.5 steals per game while forcing 14.2 turnovers.
Anthony Iglede leads UWF with an average of 16.2 points per game on a 44.8 percent mark from the floor while shooting 42.7 percent. from long range with an average of 4.5 rebounds per game. Elijah Wyche ranks second on the team with an average of 12.4 points per game on a 49.1-percent shooting mark while shooting 37.5 percent from long range. Tim Hall Jr. leads the team on the glass with an average of 8.2 rebounds per game which ranks fifth in the GSC while averaging 10.6 points per game on a 65.5-percent shooting mark.
