Micah Fuller soars down the court. Photo by Thor Audiss
The University of Montevallo men’s basketball team ended the 2018-19 season last Thursday, Feb. 28, with a 57-54 win at home over Delta State University.
With the win, the Falcons improved to 10-20 on the season and 6-14 in Gulf South Conference play.
The Falcons led for majority of the first half, however the Statesmen carried a 27-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Delta State jumped out to an 11-point lead 38-27 in the first 5 minutes of play in the second half. Montevallo responded with a 27-16 run over the next 14 minutes of play to tie the Statesmen 54-54, following a steal and a layup from sophomore Micah Fuller, with 42 seconds remaining in the game.
After Fuller tied the game, the Statesmen missed a jumper on the offensive end, giving the Falcons the final chance with 16 seconds left on the clock.
As the buzzer sounded, Fuller drained a three pointer, off the back board, winning the game for the Falcons 57-54. Fuller finished with a team-high 16 points.
While the season did not go as planned for the Falcons in their 16th year under Head Coach Danny Young, the thrilling win brought some positivity to the program.
“We’ve had so many games go against us this year, and to win it like that, it’s just crazy how basketball is sometimes,” said Assistant Coach Duncan Hudson. “I think coming in to tonight we had 10 or 11 losses under 5 points and we have another close one here tonight, we just happened to get a lucky bounce and make a shot.”
This is the first time in Young’s time at the helm of the program that the Falcons have not made it into postseason play.
This year, the Falcons will lose four seniors: Jeremiah Curtis, Zach Jackson, Tyler Updike and De’Marco Owens.
“[Jeremiah] we are going to miss everything he brings to the team, he’s a good leader and plays hard,” added Hudson. “Zach brings it every day, really quiet and plays hard, and Tyler has battled injuries the last couple years, but he has battled through.”
Curtis, Jackson and Updike have all spent two years with the Falcons, while Owens has just played one.
“De’Marco, I wish we could have had him for two years. He was a good player this year, but if we had him for two years, he would have been really good for us,” said Hudson.
Owens, who transferred to Montevallo from McNeese State University, led the team in rebounds, averaging 6.8 points per game. The senior averaged 10.5 points per game, right behind Fuller who led the team in scoring with 11.4 points per game.
