Falcons Roll to Victory, 92-86

COLUMBUS, Ga. - The University of Montevallo men's basketball team (17-3, 7-3 PBC) remained undefeated on the road with a 92-86 victory over Columbus State University (10-9, 4-6 PBC). The Falcons starting five dominated in the win picking up 78 of UM's 92 points. Senior Freddy Little (Raleigh, N.C./Bunn) and junior Tauras Dortch (Ensley, Ala./Ramsay) combined for nine three-pointers as they torched the Cougars from outside. Junior Cecil Coleman (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech) and Gerald January (Macon, Ga./Westside) dominated in the paint scoring 29 points combined while senior MarkPlaza (San Diego, Calif./Chula Vista) dished out the assists with 11.

Little led the team with 24 points including six three pointers. Dortch chipped in 19 points while hitting 3-of-4 from downtown. Coleman had 19 points and six boards while January had 10 points and eight boards. Plaza had a game-high 11 assists and six points.

UM had a 21-10 advantage in points off turnovers which was key in the win.

The Falcons opened up the game on a 7-0 run all scored by Little. They quickly built their lead to double-digits as they led by 10 just three minutes into the game. Down 11 with 13:14 left in the half the Cougars began a 17-8 run which cut the Montevallo lead to just two.

The score remained close the rest of the first half. With 1:28 remaining in the period Bryant Thomas from CSU hit a three to put the Cougars ahead by one. On the very next possession Little was fouled while shooting a three and hit all three of his free throws to put the Falcons back up by two. Thomas responded with a three on the very next possession to retake the lead for the Cougars but once again Little would not be out done as he hit a three of his own with 28 seconds remaining to put the Falcons up two going into halftime.

UM opened up the second half with a 21-5 run which extended their lead to 18. The run was capped off by a dunk from January assisted by Plaza. UM led by double-digits most of the second half. With 5:26 left in the game and the Falcons up by 14the Cougars began an 11-2 run that lasted just over three minutes. Up by just five the Falcons had to hit a number of free throws down the stretch to hang on for the 92-86 victory.

The Falcons will return to action Saturday, Feb. 6 at 3:30 p.m. as they host Georgia Southwestern in a rematch of an earlier game that Montevallo won 69-49. The Hurricanes are 5-15 overall and 1-9 in PBC play.