Strong Second Half Gives #24 Falcons Victory, 79-75

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The 24th-ranked University of Montevallo men’s basketball team (2-0) downed in region opponent Anderson University (2-3), 79-75. The Falcons were led by junior Miles Beatty (Newark, N.J./St. Anthony's) and junior Antoine Davis (Washington, D.C./M.M. Washington). Beatty had a team-high 18 points off of five three pointers and a 3-for-4 performance at the free throw line. Davis added 17 points, four assists and four steals. Davis led the team with seven free throws as he went 7-for-10 at the charity stripe.

Senior Demarcus Richard (Portland, Ore./Jefferson) contributed 12 points and was 5-for-8 from the field including 1-of-2 from three point range. Senior Cecil Coleman (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech) was the only other Falcon in double-digits with 10 points and five rebounds.

Junior Tyrone Gordon (Milwaukee, Wisc./Pope Pius XI) played just 14 minutes but picked up six steals which ranks fifth in the UM NCAA Record Book for most steals in a game. The Falcons as a team picked up 17 steals which ranks third in the UM NCAA Record Book for most steals in a single game.

The Trojans opened up the game with a 4-0 run which set the pace for the rest of the first half as the Falcons played from behind the entire 20 minutes. Up by four with 9:59 left in the first half the Trojans went on a 13-4 run to take a 13-point lead with just 6:57 left in the period. UM immediately responded with a 12-1 run capped by five-straight points from sophomore Jonas Brown (Tifton, Ga./Tift County). With just 42 seconds left in the half the Falcons had cut the lead to just two but a jumper by the Trojans with three seconds left gave them a four-point lead heading into intermission.

A pair of free throws and a jumper from Davis just minutes into the second half tied the game at 36. Just 30 seconds later the Falcons took their first lead of the game as Brown hit another three pointers to give UM a 39-37 lead. Anderson tied the game at the 6:41 mark at 58 all but that would be as close as the Trojans would get the rest of the half. With just under four minutes to play the Falcons went on a 7-0 run powered by three pointers from Beatty and Richard to give UM a 74-66 lead with just 2:06 to play.

UM hit its free throws down the stretch and held off the Trojans capturing a 79-75 lead.

The Falcons will return to action Friday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. as they host the University of North Alabama as part of the UM Coca-Cola Classic.