FROM STAFF REPORTS

MONTEVALLO – The Sporting News has ranked the University of Montevallo men’s basketball team No. 9 nationally in its annual NCAA Division II preseason poll in the publication’s 2015-16 Basketball Yearbook.

The Falcons feature one returning starter and one key reserve off the bench from a year ago, when Montevallo finished the season with a 26-9 record on its way to capturing the Peach Belt Conference regular season and conference tournament championships.

The Falcons also advanced to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 for the seventh time in program history.

Chuck Mistovich, the Small College Editor for Basketball Times, predicts a successful season for the Falcons based on the addition of seven newcomers joining the program.

“Coach Danny Young has things well in hand,” Mistovich wrote in the recap previewing the season for the top 10 teams in the 2015-16 Small College Report.

The incoming headliners are guards Vaughn Autry, who began his playing career at the University of Montana, and Terrell Lipkins, who averaged 17.4 points, five rebounds and 4.6 assists per game at the University of Charleston three years ago.

Autry and Lipkins will join returning starter Malik Fields, a 6-foot-7 senior forward who averaged 6.9 points and five rebounds per game. Senior Bryant Orange, a 6-foot-3 guard, played a key role off the bench a year ago after averaging 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

The Falcons begin practice in mid-October and will make their first public appearance in Montevallo Basketball Madness, which follows the Montevallo volleyball match against GRU Augusta on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.

The Falcons will open the 2015-16 season Friday, Nov. 13 against Carver Bible College. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m.