Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of Montevallo Falcons continue to hit their stride ahead of the Gulf South Conference Championship, with their latest achievement being a win over a team they previously lost to at home.

While Montevallo lost 68-64 on Jan. 18 to the West Florida Argonauts, the Falcons returned the favor on the road with an 86-81 win on Thursday, Feb. 27 in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

The win puts Montevallo in control of the No. 3 seed in the GSC standings ahead of its regular season finale at the No. 9-ranked team in Division II, the Valdosta State Blazers, on Saturday, March 1 at 3 p.m.

Derek Moore scored four of his team’s first six points in the opening three minutes of the game, and Brandon Fussell broke the tie with a 3-pointer for a 9-6 lead. The Falcons then went on an 8-0 run powered by their bench and a Camden Andrews step-back 3-pointer, increasing the lead to 22-13.

West Florida briefly cut the lead down to five, but Moore and Jaylen Curry helped Montevallo respond and lead 26-17.

The back-and-forth continued over the next few minutes, but the Falcons made the last statement of the half. Another Curry 3-pointer and dunks from him and Aidan Gardiner took the lead to 39-30 with 1:42 left.

While the Argos scored multiple baskets after that, Jay Gillespie’s layup sent the Falcons to the half with a 41-36 lead.

That lead grew to double digits again in the opening stretch of the second half as Fussell scored all 10 of Montevallo’s points in the first five minutes of the half, making the lead 51-41.

However, West Florida worked its way to the free throw line and hit six shots from the charity stripe to tie the game at 51-51 with 13:39 left. The Falcons responded in kind with four free throws to retake the lead, and they held it until the very end.

That didn’t mean it was easy for Montevallo as an eight-point lead became two after another Argos run made it a 63-61 game with 8:29 left. The Falcons responded with a 9-2 run, but West Florida made it a one-possession game once again with 3:40 left.

Curry sunk in the dagger with back-to-back 3-pointers before Fussell scored six points in the final 32 seconds to finish off the five-point win.

Fussell had a 30-point game for the second-straight game after he dropped 30 points exactly to lead the team. Curry finished with 14 points and five rebounds and Moore joined him in double figures with 12 points and five rebounds. Andrews nearly got a double-double with nine points and seven rebounds as Montevallo took the win.

Regardless of Saturday’s result, the Falcons will host a GSC quarterfinal on Tuesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at Central State Bank Arena.