MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Senior guard Kenneth Keith tallied a season-best 21 points while his backcourt mate Darrion Taylor recorded 20 for Auburn Montgomery as the Warhawks snapped a six-game losing skid with an 82-80 victory over Gulf South Conference foe the University of Montevallo in men's basketball play on Thursday evening.
 
NOTES
• AUM improves to 5-8 on the season and 1-4 in league play, picking up its first conference win of the season.
• UM falls to 6-9 overall and 2-3 in the GSC.
• The win also snaps a three-game losing skid to the Falcons, who have won every game between the two teams since AUM began its transition to NCAA Division II.
• AUM is now 30-25 lifetime against Montevallo, with their last win coming on Dec. 20, 1996. The two teams did not play each other from the 1996-97 season until 2016-17 campaign.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Keith tallied 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, connecting on four 3-pointers. He also posted four assists and three rebounds in 32 minutes of play.
• Taylor dished out a season-best eight assists to go along with his 20 points.
• Junior guard Carlos Bell tallied 14 points and seven rebounds, adding two assists, a block and a steal.
• Junior forward Aaron Reddick tallied a team-high nine rebounds and three blocks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• AUM jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the contest, going up by nine on an EJ Card 3-pointer with 14:33 to go in the first. Montevallo would cut the lead to five at 19-14 with 10:03 left in the frame on a layup by Wade Lowman, but field goals by Bell and Taylor would push AUM's advantage back to nine at 23-14 with 7:59 to play.
• UM clawed its way back into the contest, cutting their deficit to 27-23 with 4:31 on the clock, but after a Warhawk free throw Keith would hit a trey with 2:34 left until the half to give AUM a 31-23 advantage. The two teams traded points back and forth over the final minutes, with Keith providing a 3-pointer with :23 to play to give the Orange & Black a 39-28 lead heading into the break.
• Montevallo came out shooting in the second half, outscoring the Warhawks 11-2 to cut their deficit to 41-39 with 17:23 to play, but an 11-4 run by AUM would give the home squad a 52-43 advantage with 14:47 on the clock. Four minutes later Taylor gave the Warhawks a 65-54 lead when he hit a mid-range jumper as the shot clock was winding down to salvage the possession for AUM.
• A 9-0 run by UM got the Falcons right back into the contest before Reddick was able to hit a contested layup to stop the run and put AUM up 67-63 with 6:42 to play. The Falcons kept clawing back over the next four minutes, eventually tying the game at 72-72 on a Lowman layup with 2:19 on the clock.
• Stanley Davis provided a big 3-pointer with moments later to give the Warhawks a 75-72 advantage, but UM answered with a layup by De'Marco Owens to cut the lead to just a point. The two teams each missed shots over the next minute before Keith hit 1-of-2 free throws to put AUM up 76-74 with :49 to play.
• A monstrous dunk by Lowman tied the game for the Falcons with :23 on the clock, but a technical foul issued to UM after the play was over put Taylor on the free throw line for the Warhawks. Taylor hit both to give AUM a 78-76 advantage, then Bell was put on the line moments later after a foul by UM and he connected on both.
• Owens hit a layup with :08 to play to cut the AUM lead to 80-78, but UM was forced to foul Taylor who connected on two more free throws. Jack Youmans hit a jumper as time expired to make the final 82-80 in favor of the Orange & Black.

QUOTING THE COACH


 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
• The Warhawks led for 39 minutes of the contest.
• UM outscored AUM 42-32 in the paint.
• AUM converted 13-of-16 free throws while UM connected on 5-of-10.
• The Falcons won the rebounding battle, 34-31.
• There were five lead changes and two tie scores.
 
UP NEXT
The Warhawks will host the University of West Alabama on Monday at the AUM Gymnasium for a conference game set to begin at 8 p.m. The game is part of a doubleheader with the two women's teams, who will tip off at 6 p.m.
 
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