No. 19 Falcons Set School Record for Best Start in Program History with 74-58 Win

MONTEVALLO, Ala. - The No. 19 University of Montevallo men's basketball team (11-0, 1-0 PBC) set a school record and recorded the first ever Peach Belt Conference win in program history with a 74-58 victory at home against Lander University (5-5, 0-2 PBC). The 2009-10 Falcons surpassed the 2005-06 team which started 10-0 and finished 29-5. UM was led in the victory by junior Tauras Dortch (Ensley, Ala./Ramsay) who had a game-high 19 points and five rebounds.

The Falcons other top performers were senior Gerald January (Macon, Ga./Westside) who nearly completed a triple-double with 16 points, eight rebounds and seven steals. Senior Freddy Little (Raleigh, N.C./Bunn) chipped in 15 points all of which he scored in the second half. Junior forward Cecil Coleman (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech) had a season-high four blocked shots to go along with his four points and four rebounds. Senior MarkPlaza (San Diego, Calif./Chula Vista) dished out a game-high seven assists.

The Falcons sprinted out to a 6-0 lead on a pair of field goals by Dortch and one by January in the first three minutes. Montevallo made it 14-7 at 12:13 on a field goal by January. After a scoring slump by both teams, Montevallo took a 22-13 advantage at 3:42 on another January jumper and led 26-20 at halftime.

Montevallo dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half as they outscored Lander, 29-13, to take a 55-33 lead with 10:08 left in the game. The Falcons held their biggest lead at 72-44 on a Freddy Little basket with 5:33 remaining in the game.

The Falcons used 30 points off turnovers to control most of the game. The Falcons had 16 steals and forced 21 LU turnovers.

UM will look to improve its school record start as the Falcons travel to Georgia Southwestern State University on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 2:30 p.m. The Hurricanes are 4-6 on the season and 0-0 in conference play. They travel to USC Aiken on Monday before hosting Montevallo the following Saturday.