MONTEVALLO, Ala. – Montevallo men's basketball is set to take on fourth-seeded Florida Southern on Saturday, March 14 in the first round of the NCAA South Region Tournament.
OFFICIAL SCHEDULE | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Montevallo earned the No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament after finishing the regular season with a 17-5 conference record while adding a 21-8 mark overall. The Falcons posted a 4-2 record in nonconference action to start the season before falling th Lee, 75-51, on Dec. 4 for UM's conference opener. Montevallo then went 4-1 for the rest of December with wins over Trevecca Nazarene, Delta State, Mississippi College, and Christian Brother before falling to Union on the road on Dec. 20. Montevallo then returned for an 89-62 win over Auburn Montgomery at home before topping Alabama Huntsville on Jan. 8. The Falcons fell in back-to-back games against West Alabama and Valdosta State before sparking an eight-game winning streak with a 97-87 road win over West Florida on Jan. 17. The Falcons then added a home win over TNU before getting revenge against Lee with a 71-66 win on Jan. 24. Montevallo's Mississippi road trip featured two wins over DSU and MC before returning to Central State Bank Arena for wins over Union and CBU to open February. Montevallo closed its winning streak with a 73-60 win over AUM on Feb. 14 before falling to No. 13 West Alabama 66-54 in Livingston, Ala. Montevallo closed the regular season with an 84-60 road win over UAH before topping West Florida, 89-77, on Feb. 25. The regular season finale featured an 86-80 Montevallo win over Valdosta State on Feb. 27. Montevallo faced an early exit from the Gulf South Conference after falling to Lee, 69-65, on Monday, March 2.
In its 29 games this season, Montevallo has posted an average of 78.4 points per game on a 46.9-percent shooting mark while shooting 35.9 percent from deep and 75.4 percent from the line. On the boards, Montevallo averages 36.3 rebounds per game while also averaging 9.0 offensive rebounds per game. The Falcons ranked third in the GSC with an average of 15.00 assists while posting just 12.0 turnovers for a 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio. Defensively, Montevallo allows just 69.1 points per game on a 40.3-percent shooting mark which both rank second in the conference. The Falcons lead the GSC with a three-point defense that allows just a 30.3-percent mark. UM ranks third in the GSC with an average of 13.6 turnovers forced per game on a league-best 9.1 steals per game.
Gulf South Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-South Region selection
Derek Moore heads into the big dance with 18.1 points per game on a 61.5-percent shooting mark while adding 6.9 rebounds per game. Second Team All-Region member
Brandon Fussell holds an average of 17.0 points per game while shooting 44.4-percent from the floor and 36.7 percent from the floor while leading the conference with 2.1 steals per game and posting 5.3 assists.
Jaylen Curry adds 13.1 points per game with a 49.7-percent shooting mark while posting 5.4 rebounds per game in 27.7 minutes.
Devon McKinnon rounds out Montevallo's top scorers with 10.1 points per game on a 38.5-percent clip while shooting 35.4-percent from deep.
No. 4 seed Florida Southern heads into the national postseason with a 22-10 overall record while posting a 13-7 mark in Sunshine State Conference action. The Mocs posted a 6-1 record in nonconference action to open the season before topping Saint Leo in overtime on Dec. 3 to open conference play. A 93-88 win over Rollins moved FSC to a 2-0 start to SSC play before falling to Lynn on Dec. 13. FSC posted a 1-1 record in the Mocs Christmas Classic before returning to conference play with a 101-85 win over No.3 Palm Beach Atlantic. FSC then fell to Nova Southeastern before rattling off three-straight wins over Barry, Florida Tech and Embry-Riddle. The Mocs' win streak ended with an 89-81 loss to Eckerd on Jan. 17 before adding another three-game streak with victories against Tampa, Lynn and Saint Leo to close January. February opened with a pair of FSC losses against No. 12 PBA and Rollins before the Mocs added a 106-81 win over Eckerd on Feb. 11. A pair of wins over Embry-Riddle and Florida Tech followed before FSC fell to Tampa, 85-80, on Feb. 21. The final regular season win for FSC came in the form of an 84-82 win over Barry on Feb. 25 before the Mocs fell to NSU, 92-73, in the regular season finale. The Mocs took a 90-86 overtime win over Embry-Riddle in the first round of the SSC tournament before falling to the No. 2 seed Palm Beach Atlantic, 82-77 on March 5.
Florida Southern posted an average of 89.0 points per game on a 45.5-percent shooting mark while adding a 34.4-percent clip from deep and 75.2-percent from the line. On the glass, FSC averages 39.7 rebounds per game with 13.0 offensive boards per game. The Mocs average 18.00 assists per game with just 12.2 turnovers for a 1.48 assist-to-turnover ratio. On the other end, Florida Southern allows 83.1 points per game on an opponent shooting mark of 46.0-percent from the floor and 34.2 percent from deep. On the boards, FSC allows 40.9 rebounds per game while forcing 14.6 turnovers per game on an average of 8.88 steals per game.
Amare Miller leads the team with 16.1 points per game on a 54.7-percent shooting mark while adding a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks. Brady Corso ranks second on the squad with 14.4 points on a 42.7-percent shooting clip while shooting 38.1 percent from deep and adding 4.0 rebounds per game. Charlie Dalton and Jasir Tremble each add 11.5 and 11.4 points per game, respectively, with Dalton shooting 45.9 percent and Tremble shooting 43.4 percent from the field. Ameer Ramadan is the fifth and final double-digit scorer for FSC with 10.4 points per game on a 40.9-percnt shooting clip while adding 3.5 rebounds per game.
