Falcons Never Trail in Quarterfinal Win, 88-79

By: Sean Forrester

Posted: 2/22/10

The University of Montevallo men's basketball team (22-6) never trailed in its Peach Belt Conference Tournament game with North Georgia College and State University (15-13) on Wednesday night (3/3). The Falcons jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they won 88-79 to advance to the semifinals against No. 1 ranked Augusta State University on Saturday night at 5 p.m. (CST). The two teams will travel to Aiken, S.C. for the final four match-up.

The Falcons were led by their two big men in the paint as senior Gerald January (Macon, Ga./Westside) and junior Cecil Coleman (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech) combined for 37 of the Falcons 88 points. January had a team-high 20 points and six rebounds as he was 7-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Coleman had a double-double with 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Senior Freddy Little (Raleigh, N.C./Bunn) chipped in 16 points and was 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

Senior Mark Plaza (San Diego, Calif./Chula Vista) had 11 points and a game-high seven assists. Junior Tauras Dortch (Ensley, Ala./Ramsay) had nine points and four assists while junior Demarcus Richard (Portland, Ore./Jefferson) had nine points.

The Falcons shot 53.8 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the free throw line. NGCSU was held to just 42.6 percent from the floor and 75.0 percent from the free throw line.

UM opened the game on an 11-4 run and continued to lead from there. The Saints used a 7-0 run midway through the second half to cut the Falcons lead to just two. Three minutes later a three-pointer by NGCSU's Carl Taylor tied the game at 25. With 3:01 left in the half and the Falcons up by two UM went on a 9-2 run to close out the half up 41-32.

The Falcons continued their strong play into the second half as they led the entire period and built their lead to as much as 17 points. The Saints were able to cut the lead to just six with 1:04 to play but the Falcons strong free throw shooting made the difference in the end as the Falcons won 88-79.

The Falcons will continue their postseason run this Saturday at 5 p.m. as they take on No. 1 Augusta State University. ASU is 26-2 overall and won their quarterfinal match-up with Armstrong Atlantic State University 83-80.