MONTEVALLO, Ala. - The 2024-25 season came to an end for the University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team on Tuesday after the Tigers fell, 67-60, to the Montevallo Falcons in the GSC Quarterfinals.
UWA (14-15, 10-12 GSC) battled for all 40 minutes with Montevallo (20-9, 15-7) until the Falcons used a 14-5 run to pull away from the Tigers down the stretch.
"We're going to walk out of here with our heads held high," said head coach Nick Woodruff. "For 38 minutes, we were winning and arguably the tougher team. Montevallo's a really good team. They're sixth in the region, they just went down to Valdosta and beat them , and we just went toe-to-toe with them on the road in a really good environment."
West Alabama started out fast, burying their first three shots to take a 9-4 lead through the first four minutes. Michael McIntosh subbed in early for Dadrevius Weathers and McIntosh proceeded to put his fingerprints all over the first period. The forward began his day by converting on a hook shot before going on to score six points and grab six rebounds in 13 minutes in the half. McIntosh, coupled with baskets from Jaylen Lemons and Thaddeus Williams kept UWA's lead around five for majority of the half. At the 3:42 mark, a floater from Travion McCray gave the Tigers their largest lead of the period at seven points before baskets from Montevallo's Brandon Fussell and Derek Moore cut West Alabama's lead down to three at the break.
West Alabama shot 56.5 percent from the field and 33 percent from three in the first half. Moore and Fussell combined for 19 points on 9-14 shooting in the first half for Montevallo while UWA held the rest of the Falcons to nine points on 3-15 shooting.
Out of halftime, Caleb McGill nailed back-to-back threes to give the Tigers their largest lead of the game at 37-28. After a quick six points from McGill, Moore continued his dominance in the painted area for the Falcons. The forward scored five points in a flash before Fussell nailed a midrange jumper to carry a 14-2 run for Montevallo, propelling the Falcons ahead of the Tigers 42-39. UWA's Williams responded by going on a personal 8-0 run, giving the West Alabama the lead back at 48-42. The game of runs continued as Fussell and the Falcons threw their counterpunch, using an 11-4 run to take a 53-52 lead with 7:20 left to play. After Montevallo's run, neither team scored in the next four minutes until Williams broke the ice and gave West Alabama the lead with a midrange jumper. Moments later, the Falcons' Jaylen Curry hit a three that shifted the momentum into the favor of Montevallo as they rode a 14-5 run to a 67-60 decision.
"We really battled but that's not going to help the sting," coach Woodruff continued. "This one really hurts. We've got some seniors in that locker room that just played their last game so it's tough. We played our tails off and I'm just so proud of them."
Williams finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds while McGill poured in 14 points and four rebounds.
West Alabama concludes the 2024-25 season with a 14-15 overall record.
