FROM STAFF REPORTS

The University of Montevallo men’s basketball team held off a late second-half run by Miles College in a 77-65 victory over the Golden Bears in a non-conference game Dec. 10.

The Falcons led by as many as 22 points, but the Golden Bears used a late second-half run to cut the lead to as little as eight points.

Montevallo (9-1) relied on senior D.J. Rivera to weather the storm as he scored nine of the Falcons’ final 10 points. Rivera finished with 26 points, three assists and three steals.

Junior Jonas Brown had his long-range jumper dialed in as he hit 5-of-9 attempts from 3-point range and finished with 20 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Junior Jeff Hefner led the Falcons in rebounding with eight boards, while senior DeMarcus Catchings, junior Danny Cummins and junior Drico Hightower each had six rebounds. Catchings added eight points, two assists and two blocks to his total.

The Falcons outrebounded the Golden Bears 46-35 and outscored Miles College 36-10 in the paint. Montevallo hit 48.5 percent of its shots from the field, while hitting 41.2 percent from 3-point range. The Falcons struggled from the free-throw line, making just 42.9 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe. The Bears hit 33.9 percent from the field and 21.4 from 3-point range. They fared a bit better from the free-throw line, hitting 65.5 percent.

The Golden Bears opened the game with a pair of free throws to take a 2-0 lead but a 3-pointer by Brown on the next possession gave the Falcons the lead, one they would never give up the rest of the game. Montevallo led by as many as 19 points in the first half as Brown hit a 3-pointer with 4:49 left to give the Falcons a 30-11 lead. The half ended on a layup by Rivera that gave Montevallo a 37-20 lead.

Montevallo started the second half like the end of the first half and eventually built up a 22-point lead on a dunk by Rivera with 15:49 left in the game. With 7:52 left in the game and the Falcons up 65-47, the Bears went on a 12-2 run to cut the Falcons lead to just eight points with 4:16 left on the clock. Rivera then took over and built the Falcons lead back up to 12 points as time expired, 77-65.

The Falcons will return to action Saturday, Dec. 17 at 4 p.m. as they travel to the University of West Florida for a meeting with Arkansas Tech.