FROM STAFF REPORTS

GREENWOOD, S.C. – Three days after knocking off Peach Belt Conference West Division leader Young Harris, Montevallo defeated East Division leader Lander 73-69 in overtime on the road in Greenwood, South Carolina.

The Falcons raced out to a 7-2 lead, marking their largest lead in the opening half, following a three-pointer by junior Kevin Kelly from the wing with 16:56 remaining in the half.

Montevallo took a 13-9 lead on a three-pointer by senior Terrell Lipkins with 12:38 left in the first half. A free throw by senior Tevin Worthy gave the Falcons a 14-11 advantage with 11:46 remaining in the half before Lander closed the half with a 25-13 run.

A jumper by Telvin Gabriel with 10:32 remaining in the half gave the Bearcats their first lead in the contest, 16-14. A three-pointer by Scott Elder with 4:06 left in the half gave Lander a 31-20 advantage, which marked its largest lead in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Travis Fredimon made a jumper with seven seconds remaining in the first half to send the Bearcats into the locker room with a 36-27 lead at halftime.

The Falcons opened the second half with a 12-5 run, capped with a basket by Worthy off an offensive rebound with 14:02 remaining in the game, to trim the Bearcats’ lead to 41-39.

Lander responded with a quick 5-0 run, capped with a three from J.R. Washington with 12:15 remaining in the game, to extend its lead to 46-39. The Falcons used a 5-0 run, capped with a jumper by Lipkins, to trim the Bearcats’ lead to 48-46 with 10:18 left in the contest.

A pair of free throws by Elder with 4:55 remaining in the game pushed the Bearcats’ lead to 54-48 before Montevallo went on a 14-8 run in the final five minutes to force the game into overtime. A layup by Orange with eight seconds left tied the contest at 62-62 before Washington misfired on a three with a second remaining in regulation.

A jumper by Orange in the paint 18 seconds into the overtime period gave the Falcons a 64-62 advantage, giving Montevallo its first lead since the 11:09 mark in the opening half.

Washington knocked down a pair of free throws with 2:30 remaining in overtime gave the Bearcats a 65-64 lead before a 5-0 run by the Falcons gave Montevallo a 69-65 cushion with just under one minute left in the extra period. Kelly converted a three-point play to give Montevallo the lead and senior Malik Fields made a jumper in the paint to push the Falcons’ lead to four points.

The Falcons finished 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute of overtime to secure the 73-69 victory.

STAT OF THE GAME

The Falcons held Lander to a season-low 39 percent (23-of-59) shooting from the floor in Peach Belt Conference play this season.

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

Junior Kevin Kelly grabbed a career-high seven rebounds in the victory over the Bearcats.

Senior Bryant Orange tied his career high with nine made field goals as he finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor.

Sophomore Vaughn Autry tied his career high with three assists while playing 24 minutes off the bench.