Falcons Suffer Late Scoring Drought on the Road

DAHLONEGA, Ga. - The University of Montevallo men's basketball team (19-5, 9-5 PBC) once again suffered a late game scoring drought this time against North Georgia College and State University (13-10, 8-5 PBC). The Falcons led 70-58 with 9:28 left in the game but went scoreless for the next 7:33 and scored just three points down the stretch as they fell 76-73.

The Falcons were led by senior Freddy Little (Raleigh, N.C./Bunn) who scored 21 points including six three pointers. He also chipped in five rebounds. Junior Tauras Dortch (Ensley, Ala./Ramsay) scored 15 points and grabbed four boards while senior MarkPlaza (San Diego, Calif./Chula Vista) chipped in 14 points, six assists and four rebounds. Junior Cecil Coleman (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech) was the only other Falcon in double-digits with 13 points, three blocks and three rebounds.

UM was out-rebounded 46-26. The Saints dominated the offensive glass 17-6 and used that to take a 19-7 advantage in second chance points.

The Falcons jumped out to the early lead in the game and led by as much as five in the opening five minutes. With 13:14 left in the first half and UM up 14-10 the Falcons went on a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 14 with just under 10 minutes to play in the half. The Falcons held onto the double-digit lead most of the first half as the period ended with UM up 47-36.

UM held its double-digit lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half and then suffered a scoring drought that saw the Falcons score just three points in the final 9:28 of the game. Down 70-58 the Saints went on a 15-0 run to take a 73-70 lead with 3:55 remaining. UM senior Gerald January (Macon, Ga./Westside) hit a pair of free throws with 1:55 left to cut the NGCSU lead to one. A three-pointer by the Saints up their lead to four with 1:19 left.

Coleman hit one of two free throws to cut the NGCSU lead to three with 51 seconds left on the clock. A missed free throw by the Saints allowed the Falcons a chance to tie the game with 24 seconds left in regulation. UM used a pair of timeouts to set up a shot but a three from Little did not find the mark as the Falcons fell 76-73.

The Falcons will return to action Saturday, Feb. 20 at 3:30 p.m. as they host Clayton State University. CSU is 13-10 overall and 6-7 in the PBC.