Rivera led the Falcons with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor in the first half. Catchings added seven points and four rebounds off the bench in the opening half.

Montevallo used a quick 8-0 run, beginning and ending with a 3-pointer by Brown, to extend its lead to 20 points, 61-41, with 11:44 remaining in the game.

A 9-0 run by the Falcons, built with a pair of 3-pointers by Brown and a 3-pointer by Rivera, gave Montevallo its largest lead of the game, 70-46, with 8:41 left in the second half.

Anderson slowly chipped away at the deficit before a 12-0 run by the Trojans cut the Falcons’ lead to just eight points, 80-72, with just under two minutes remaining. However, the Falcons knocked down 6-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the victory.

Davis praised Montevallo students, who packed the home bleachers for the region tournament championship game and stormed the court for the second time in three days after the Falcons’ victory.

“They motivated us,” Davis said.

Young, who saw his Falcons get knocked out of the NCAA Division II Elite Eight quarterfinals in back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007, believes his team has the ability to make a deeper run this season.

“I think they’ll be very hungry,” Young said. “We’ve talked about winning a national championship all year.”

The Falcons have a legitimate chance at cutting down the nets in Kentucky, said Anderson coach Jason Taylor.

“If they shoot the ball as well as they did tonight,” Taylor said, “I don’t see anybody beating them.”