#5 Falcons Fall to Christian Brothers, 61-55

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The fifth-ranked University of Montevallo men’s basketball team (6-1) suffered its first loss of the season at home to Christian Brothers University (7-2), 61-55. The Buccaneers shot 72.2 percent in the first half including a 7-for-10 mark from behind the three-point line. CBU ended the night with a 64.7 shooting percentage while the Falcons were only able to hit 41.1 percent of their shots. The Falcons were led by redshirt-sophomore Jonas Brown (Tifton, Ga./Tift County) who had a career-high 18 points as he hit 7-of-10 shots from the field including one three-pointer. Brown scored 16 of his points in the second half as the Falcons tried to rally from a 13-point halftime deficit.

Junior Antoine Davis (Washington, D.C./M.M. Washington) chipped in 13 points as he hit 6-of-9 shots. Senior Cecil Coleman (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech) was the only other Falcon in double-digits with 10. He also led the team in rebounding with six boards.

UM was able to force CBU into 22 turnovers while only giving up seven turnovers of their own but it was not enough as the Buccaneers hit key three-pointers throughout the game.

The Bucs started the game 6-for-6 from three-point range and jumped out to an early 22-10 lead. The Bucs continued to build their lead throughout the first half as they only missed five shots the entire period. With 3:39 left in the first half the Falcons found themselves down by 19. A pair of lay-ups from junior Jervan Jackson (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/South Dade) and another pair of scores from Coleman cut the lead to just 13 at the break.

Six minutes into the second half a lay-up by Brown cut the Bucs lead to just eight. Another jumper on UM’s next possession cut the Bucs lead to just seven. A couple missed shots and a fould let the Bucs regain their double-digit lead with just under 12 minutes to play. Brown once again answered for the Falcons with a three which cut the lead to nine but the Bucs responded with a three of their own to go back up by 12 which was the story of the night.

Two missed shots and a pair of turnovers by CBU allowed the Falcons to cut the lead to just three with 6:49 left in the game. CBU responded with points on their next three possessions to push its lead back to nine. The Falcons would not get any closer as the Bucs closed out the game with a couple free throws winning 61-55.

UM will return to action Saturday, Dec. 18 at 2:00 p.m. as the Falcons travel to Clayton State University to take on St. Augustine’s in a tournament.