FROM STAFF REPORTS

AIKEN, S.C. – In the NCAA Division-II Southeast Regional Final, two Peach Belt Conference teams squared off for a shot at a birth to the Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind. In the end, the University of Montevallo found itself on the wrong side of this Sweet Sixteen contest, falling to the USC Aiken Pacers, 84-73.

The first half of the contest was controlled by USC Aiken. Overall, they shot 48.4 percent from the floor and made half of the 10 three-point shots they took. All told, the Pacers put up 43 first half points.

The hot Pacer start was led by Jesse Seilern. He finished the first half with 13 points and was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

On the flip side, Montevallo struggled to find its rhythm from the field, making just 28.1 percent of their 32 shots. The struggle was even more apparent from long range, as the Falcons were just 14.3 percent from three-point territory. The third seed in the Southeast scored 30 in the first half and entered the locker room trailing by 13 points.

Unfortunately for Montevallo, this deficit would prove to be too much to overcome, as they played step for step with USC Aiken in the second half, but could never significantly chip into the lead.

The Pacers ended up winning 84-73 and never led by less than eight in the second half.

For the Falcons, their attack was spearheaded by Troran Brown and Orlando Brazier.

The duo combined for 48 of Montevallo’s 73 points.

Brown was relentless driving to the rim, drawing 13 foul shots. The Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year converted 10 of his 13 attempts from the line. All told, Brown put up a team best 27 points, while also chipping in five assists.

Brazier, who was coming off a career-high 31 points in the semifinal against Lincoln Memorial, had another stellar game on Tuesday night. He scored 21 points down low for Montevallo.

Both Brown and Brazier were named to the All-Tournament Team. Brown averaged 25 points per game in the tournament, while Brazier averaged 24 points.

This was Coach Danny Young’s ninth career appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.

The Falcons finished the season with a record of 26-6.