Peach Belt Conference Champions!
AIKEN, S.C. - A blocked three-point
attempt by USC Aiken's Kevin Willis with nine seconds left helped
preserve his team's 65-60 win over the University of Montevallo for
the 2010 Marvin Vanover PBC Tournament Championship, sponsored by
GEICO.
USC Aiken improves to 19-10 and gets the automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament, while the Falcons drop to 23-7, and await the
announcement of the at-large selections tonight at 9:30 p.m.
The Pacers were playing in their third-straight PBC Tournament
Championship in the three years it has been held at the USCA
Convocation Center, but had yet to bring home the trophy. PBC
Tournament MVP Byron Faison had a team-high 19 points, including
three three-pointers, and All-Tournament Team selection Willis
added a double-double with 18 points and 10 caroms.
All-Tournament Team choices Freddy Little and Tauras Dortch had 20
and 10 points, respectively. Cecil Coleman added 11 points and six
boards, while Jordan Hutchison put in 12, all in the first half,
and all on threes. Little's 20 points came after being held
scoreless in the first half.
The home squad had a slight 36-31 advantage at the half, as
neither team had trouble finding the range. The Pacers reached the
mid-way point on 64 percent (16-25) shooting, while Montevallo did
them one better at 65 percent (13-20). The eight halftime turnovers
by the Falcons helped create the five-point USCA
advantage.
The Falcons' hot shooting cooled off considerably in the second
frame, hitting just nine field goals for 35 percent from the floor.
The Pacers stretched out their halftime advantage as large as 17 at
54-37 with 8:13 remaining.
That's when Montevallo began playing its signature run-and-gun
style, trimming the lead to three with a 26-6 run over the next
7:01, capped by a Little three at the 1:12 mark for a 63-60 score.
After the Pacers missed a shot and Gerald January cleared the
rebound, the Falcons missed a game-tying three, then fouled Willis
who missed the first shot to keep the game at three.
Little went screaming down the left sideline, tried to crack
another game-tying attempt from the corner, but Willis used all of
his 6-foot-8 frame to knock the shot awry from behind. The rebound
was cleared to Re'mon Nelson for an uncontested lay-up and the
65-60 final.
Peach Belt Conference All-Tournament Team
Timothy Downs, Clayton State
Ben Madgen, Augusta State
Tauras Dortch, Montevallo
Freddy Little, Montevallo
Kevin Willis, USC Aiken
Tournament MVP - Byron Faison, USC Aiken
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