SAINT LEO, Fla. – Powered by a career-high 22 points from sophomore guard Stanley Davis and a season high 19 from senior guard Darrion Taylor the Auburn Montgomery men's basketball team defeated Sunshine State Conference power the University of Tampa, 72-69, on Saturday afternoon at the 2018 Saint Leo Classic.
 
NOTES
• AUM improves to 2-2 on the season while the Spartans suffer their first loss and fall to 3-1.
• This was the first meeting between the two programs.
• The Warhawks finish the Saint Leo Classic at 1-1.
• The Warhawks are now 4-2 against Sunshine State Conference teams.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Davis came off the bench to score his 22 points, none bigger than his final 3-pointer that gave AUM a 69-66 lead with 3:17 to play.
• After scoring only three points in the first game of the season Taylor has now scored 19, 12 and 19 in his last three contests. Taylor also matched a season-high in assists with six.
• Junior guard Carlos Bell continues his strong play, tallying 13 points and seven rebounds. Bell was also 8-8 at the charity stripe, including a pair of free throws with :06 seconds remaining to give AUM a three-point advantage.
• Junior forward Aaron Reddick led the team in rebounds again with 10 and blocks with two.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• AUM jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the Spartans were able to get on the board with a trey by Anthony Gamble with 16:56 to play in the first. The Warhawks would build a nine-point advantage on Davis fastbreak layup to put the Orange & Black up 17-8.
• Tampa would inch their way back into the contest, pulling to within 26-22 on a Cedric Belemene put back with 6:16 left in the half. The Warhawks would respond with a 12-4 run, capped off by a 3-pointer by Bell to go up 38-26 with 1:16 to go until the break, before eventually taking a 38-28 lead into the half.
• The Spartans started the second half with a 10-0 run, tying the game on an Alberto Moreno layup with 16:56 left on the clock. Taylor would hit a trey to put the Warhawks back up 41-38 moments later, before Gamble responded with one of his own to tie the game at 41-41 with 15:25 to play.
• The two teams traded points back and fourth before Tampa was able to gain a 52-50 lead with 10:12 to go on a Belemene jumper in the paint. Davis would regain the lead for the Warhawks with a trey less than a minute later, but Tampa would gain it right back to eventually go up 63-57 with 7:00 remaining.
• Over the next six minutes AUM would hold the Spartans to only thee points, tying the game at 66-66 with a 3-pointer by Davis with 3:17 to play and taking the lead on another Davis shot from behind the arc at the 1:11 mark. After a free throw from Reddick put AUM up 70-66 Gamble hit a 3-pointer with :27 seconds remaining to cut the Warhawk advantage to 70-69.
• With :08 seconds to go Reddick would block a layup attempt by Moreno, while Bell pulled down the defensive rebound and was fouled. Bell would hit both free throws to give AUM a 72-69 lead and Gamble missed a desperation 3-pointer in the closing seconds to finish out the game.
 
QUOTING THE COACH
"That was a great victory for us," said AUM head coach Michael Cheaney. "A great team effort. We really did some things well. We played great defensively. Our starters played well and then our bench came in and gave great effort. In the second half Tampa came out and made a run and we were able to hit some shots and defend them well. I'm really proud of the boys for staying focused on the game plan and going out and executing it."
 
"Darrion played a lot of minutes and hit some big shots, added Cheaney. "He kept us together where we could have easily gotten rattled. Aaron had a big block towards the end when Tampa could have gone up. Carlos was big hitting those free throws to seal the victory and then Stanley and Tre coming off the bench to hit some big shots was key. It was a great team effort and everybody contributed to pull off that victory."
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
• AUM's bench outscored UT's 25-4.
• Tampa won the rebounding battle, 38-36.
• The Spartans outscored the Warhawks 28-20 in the paint.
• The Warhawks shot 44.4 percent from the floor while UT shot 36.4 percent.  
 
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will play region rival Tuskegee University on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of the Golden Tigers. The two teams split the season series last season, with each team winning on their home courts. AUM earned a 68-66 victory on Nov. 21 while Tuskegee won 77-68 on Jan. 30.
 
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