No. 20 Falcons Tie Record for Best Start in School History in Overtime Thriller, 74-68
PENSACOLA, Fla. - The No. 20 University of Montevallo men's basketball team (10-0) tied the record for the best start in school history with their tenth win without a defeat. The only other Montevallo team to start on such a hot streak was the 2005-06 team which finished 29-5. The Falcons defeated the University of West Florida (4-6) for the second time this season. This time UM had to go into overtime to take down the Argonauts 74-68. The Falcons were led by senior Freddy Little (Raleigh, N.C./Bunn) who had a game-high 24 points along with five rebounds and four assists.
Little was 5-of-7 from three-point range and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe including going 4-for-4 in the overtime period. Junior Tauras Dortch (Ensley, Ala./Ramsay) chipped in 18 points and three assists. He was 4-of-7 from three-point range and also scored four points in the overtime period to help lead the Falcons to victory.
Junior Cecil Coleman (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech) had 12 points and five rebounds while hitting 6-of-7 shots from the floor including going 2-for-2 in the overtime period. Senior Gerald January (Macon, Ga./Westside) had his second double-double against the Argonauts this year as he had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Senior MarkPlaza (San Diego, Calif./Chula Vista) dished out a team-high nine assists while scoring five points.
The Argos got off to a quick start taking the early lead in the game. They built up an 11-5 advantage in the first five minutes of play but that only fueled the Falcons fire as UM went on a 23-5 run over the next five-plus minutes capped off by a Freddy Little three to gain a 28-16 lead. That lead would not be relinquished the rest of the first half as the Falcons went into halftime up 36-31.
The second half was a back-and-forth period despite the fact that the Falcons never trailed and only allowed the game to be tied once. Unfortunately for the Falcons the one time it was tied was when time expired. The Falcons fell on a dry spell in the final two minutes of the period as they did not take a shot and turned the ball over three times allowing the Argos to cut down a four-point lead and tie the game at 58-58.
The overtime period was all Falcons as they controlled the play outscoring UWF 16-10 and not giving up a turnover in the entire period. Coleman got things started with a layup just 25 seconds into the overtime session off a dish from Plaza. The Argos took their one and only lead of the period on the next possession as they hit a three to take a 61-60 advantage.
A pair of Little free throws, a pair of UWF turnovers, a missed shot by the Argos, layups by Dortch and Coleman and a dunk by January gave the Falcons a 68-61 advantage with 1:35 left in the period and their tenth win on the horizon. The Argos were able to cut the Falcons lead down by one but that would be all they could muster as the Falcons won 74-68.
The No. 20 Falcons will return to action Saturday, Jan. 2 at 3:30 p.m. as they host their first Peach Belt Conference game in school history. The Falcons will look to make history by winning their 11th-straight game to open the season against Lander University.
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