Falcons Fall in Heartbreaker at North Alabama, 75-72

FLORENCE, Ala. - The University of Montevallo men's basketball team (8-9, 1-1 GSC East) dropped its first conference game of the season to the University of North Alabama (12-5, 2-0 GSC East) on the road, 75-72. The Falcons and Lions battled the entire game with both teams taking significant leads throughout the contest. The Falcons were led by junior Nate Flowers (Waldorf, Maryland) who scored 18 points while junior Freddy Little (Raleigh, North Carolina) chipped in 16.

The Falcons and Lions were evenly matched the first six minutes of the first half but the Falcons went on a three minute 11-2 run to open up a 10-point lead midway through the first. With less than seven minutes to play in the opening stanza the Lions went on a 13-3 run of their own to give themselves a one-point lead with 1:46 left. The Falcons would regain the lead off a pair of free throws by Flowers and a layup by Gerald January (Macon, Georgia). The Lions hit two more late free throws to cut the Falcons lead to just one at halftime, 34-33.

The second half was as evenly matched as the first. With just 8:21 remaining the Lions went on an 8-0 run to open up an 11-point lead with 6:00 minutes left on the clock. One minute later the Falcons began their own run, a 14-4 scamper that left them down by just one point with 19 seconds remaining.

The Falcons immediately fouled Isaac Gay who promptly missed his free throw attempt. Senior Brian Carlyle (Atlanta, Georgia) grabbed the board and fed it out to Little who went down the length of the floor and in for a lay-up in which two Lion defenders converged making contact with Little as he attempted his shot. No call was made and the lay-up fell just shy of its mark with four seconds remaining and was promptly rebounded by the Lions who hit their two free throws to cement the game. A half court desperation shot for the Falcons fell short ending the game 75-72.

The Falcons hit 28-of-57 from the field good for 49.1 percent compared to UNA's 26-of-59 for 44.1 percent. The Falcons also out-rebounded the Lions 38-30.

The Falcons were led by Flowers and Little while senior Terrill Humphrey (St. Augustine, Florida) scored nine points and led the team in rebounding with seven. Junior Dorian Evans (Apalachicola, Florida) scored five points and led the team with five assists.

The Falcons return to action Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. as they host the University of Alabama-Huntsville.