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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

MONTEVALLO – While a storm was raging outside Central State Bank Arena, a similar one was brewing up inside as the University of Montevallo Falcons kept lurking and waiting for their moment to strike the West Alabama Tigers.

Feeding off a crowd looking to see them make history and win their first playoff game since 2015, Montevallo brushed off an early cold stretch from deep to get a 3-pointer to fall from Tyson Sexton. And then another from Brandon Fussell.

After making just one of their first 10 3-pointers, the Falcons rallied to shoot 50 percent from behind the arc down the stretch and take the lead after fighting for it like they have all season long.

That rally sealed a historic 67-60 win over the West Alabama Tigers on Tuesday, March 4 in the Gulf South Conference Quarterfinals, marking the first conference tournament victory since rejoining the GSC.

For Falcons coach Anthony Komara and his players, it’s uncharted territory. But to him, this is a special team that is more than deserving of a trip to Homewood.

“This is my first time (in the semifinals) as a head coach, so this is really special,” Komara said. “It’s really special. But I’ll tell you what makes it special is getting to do this with the kids we have. A lot of people say that, (but) what we’re doing with kind of people we have here, that’s what makes it incredible. We have really, really awesome human beings in this program, so it’s not about me. Getting to see them have success like that and play in front of a crowd like that and win in front of a crowd like that…that’s what it’s all about.”

The teams engaged in a competitive first half that kicked off with a back-and-forth opening two minutes. Derek Moore and Brandon Fussell each had early baskets to give Montevallo a 4-3 lead.

However, West Alabama scored the next six points to take a 9-4 lead, one that they would not give up during the entire rest of the half.

That didn’t mean the Falcons didn’t keep it close. Jaylen Curry drew contact to make it 9-6 ahead of the under-16 media timeout, and he and Fussell got back within two multiple times over the next four minutes.

Aidan Gardiner ended a two-and-a-half-minute scoring drought by both teams with a post play to tie the game up at 15-15. Moore tied the game up again 50 seconds later after West Alabama scored at the other end, but the Tigers answered with a 3-pointer to hold the lead through the half.

West Alabama led by as much as seven in the first half, but Montevallo stayed within striking distance and cut the deficit to three in the final seconds of the half when Moore made it 31-28 at the break.

At halftime, Komara credited players like Moore for keeping the team within one possession but challenged them to get back to what they do best.

“Derek Moore really carried us in the first half, and it was badly needed,” Komara said. “Really, what I told the team in halftime is we should be down a lot more, like we’re actually really lucky to only be down three. But we knew that the longer the game went on, if we could get back to the tempo we wanted to play at, that we would get our chances.”

And they did just that.

The Tigers threatened to pull away with back-to-back 3-pointers in the first minute-and-a-half to increase their lead to nine, but the Falcons got back within three off three straight baskets, including a strong play by Moore at the rim to make the deficit 37-34.

While West Alabama briefly got back out to a five-point lead, Montevallo made its big move shortly afterwards.

After the Falcons started the game 1-for-10 from deep, Tyson Sexton hit UM’s first 3-pointer in nearly 20 minutes when he made a corner shot with 14:25 remaining.

A minute later, Fussell pulled up at the top of the key for a 3-pointer and knocked it down to give the Falcons a 40-39 lead, their first since the 18:17 mark of the first half.

Montevallo would lead for a couple of minutes before West Alabama went on a 9-0 run capped by a pair of 3-pointers to go up 48-42 with 9:54 left.

The Falcons’ continued success from deep helped make it a one-possession game again as Curry and Fussell knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. Moore then tied the game back up at 50-50 with two free throws with 8:02 left.

West Alabama then briefly retook a two-point lead before Reese Gurner buried a corner 3-pointer to restore Montevallo’s 53-52 lead with 7:18 left.

That basket proved crucial as it was the only one either team would score for the next four minutes. Both defenses played strong to keep the other team from landing a potential dagger, but the Tigers broke the deadlock with a fadeaway and-1 to take a 55-53 lead with 3:17 left.

It wouldn’t be the decisive blow though. Curry and Sexton hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 59-55 lead, and the Falcons held on to that lead from that point on to seal the seven-point win.

Fussell led Montevallo with 20 points while playing all 40 minutes. Moore finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, Curry earned 11 points, four boards and four steals and Sexton had six points and six rebounds.

After the game, Komara applauded his team for responding to his challenge just as they have throughout the season.

“We had a little grown-up conversation at halftime, which was good, but they respond,” Komara said. “Our guys, they respond every single time they’re challenged, so I’m really proud of them.”

He pointed to Sexton and Fussell’s 3-pointers to retake the lead as the turning point in the game’s momentum. He said each 3-pointer that they made grew their confidence and energy and helped them snowball baskets in front of a raucous home crowd.

“I can’t even explain how big those were,” Komara said. “It’s just in a game like that, with a crowd like that, with the energy like that, and it’s a game where points were hard to come by, when you see one of those 3’s go in, it makes the rim look like 10 times bigger, and we had some carry over from it. We saw one go in, and then we kind of got going and created some more tempo. That’s what it does. It just increases your team’s confidence, and I was proud of our guys. They capitalized on it.”

With the win, Montevallo advances to face the No. 2 team in the GSC and No. 9 team in the country, the Valdosta State Blazers, on Saturday, March 8 at 7:15 p.m. at Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.

While the Falcons took down the Blazers on March 1, Komara stressed that it was very much an off night for a usually strong Valdosta State team. However, he believed by limiting turnovers and getting rebounds, they could pull off another upset and reach Sunday’s final.

“They did not play well at their place last week when we saw them, so I think our guys would be sorely mistaken if they expect the same Valdosta team this Saturday that we saw last week,” Komara said. “They are well coached. They play really hard, and they play really fast, and they are super skilled. So, it’s going to be a heck of a challenge for us, and it’s one that our guys will be excited for.”