MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo men's basketball closed the regular season with an 86-80 win over Valdosta State behind 25 points from Derek Moore and 21 from Brandon Fussell on Senior Night.
 
Montevallo held an early 9-2 lead in the first three minutes behind four points from Fussell before a three from Derek Moore at the 15:32 mark gave UM a 12-4 lead. Valdosta State would pull within one at the 13:52 mark but Devon McKinnon nailed a three on the next Montevallo possession to stretch the lead to 17-13. A Sam Duskin three followed by a finish inside from Jaylen Curry gave Montevallo an eight-point advantage with 10 minutes left in the half. At the 8:33 mark, a Blazer three tied the game at 26-26 before taking a two-point lead with 7:19 until halftime. Bryant James tallied back-to-back buckets to give Montevallo a two-point lead before a VSU three left Montevallo trailing 31-30 with 5:46 left. A James three just over a minute late gave Montevallo a four-point lead before VSU tied the game at 39-39. Montevallo pulled away before the break ahead of a VSU bucket to close the half with Montevallo leading 45-42.
 
Out of the break, James added another three to stretch UM's advantage to eight before a 9-0 Blazer run gave Valdosta State a 52-51 lead with 14:18 on the clock. The two sides traded buckets for the next four minutes before McKinnon knocked down a three from the top of the key at the 9:55 mark put the Falcons up 58-57. Valdosta State regained control with a trip to the line at the 8:52 mark before back-to-back finishes from Fussell gave Montevallo a 64-62 lead. Valdosta State took its largest lead of the half at 67-64 before Montevallo took the lead with a Fussell finish at the 6:02 mark. The game saw three more ties over the next three minutes with the game knotted at 77-77 heading down the stretch. Fussell knocked down a three at the 2:19 mark but VSU answered with one of its own to tie the game at 80-80 with 1:56 to play. Montevallo outscored Valdosta State 6-0 in the final 37 seconds to hold on for its 86-80 Senior Night win to close the regular season.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 86 | Valdosta State 80
Records: Montevallo 21-7 (17-5 GSC) | Valdosta State 18-10 (13-9 GSC)
Location: Central State Bank Arena | Montevallo, Ala.
 
GAME NOTES

• The Falcons shot 47.1 percent from floor while shooting 31 percent from deep with the Blazers going 37.0 percent from the field while adding a 25.0-percent mark from three.
• Valdosta State controlled the glass with a 49-39 advantage in rebounding while posting a total of 20 offensive boards to 11 from Montevallo.
• Montevallo scored a total of 44 points in the paint while holding VSU to 28 points inside with Valdosta State scoring 30 second chance points to 9 from Montevallo.
• Derek Moore led Montevallo with a total of 25 points on 10for-17 shooting while adding seven rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.
• Brandon Fussell finished with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting with four assists while pulling down five boards.

 
UP NEXT: Montevallo heads into the postseason with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 7 Lee on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m.