SOUTHAVEN, Mississippi – The University of Arkansas at Monticello men’s basketball team won its first round game in the 2008 Gulf South Conference Championship tournament with a final score of 63-61 over Montevallo, a team who had an 8-1 series record over the Weevils prior to the tip-off.

The Weevils had a 13-point lead with 14 minutes to go in regulation, but watched that lead disappear with the help of the Montevallo’s Terrill Humphrey, who scored 11 second half points, including two free throws that gave the Falcons the lead with three minutes remaining.

On the other end of the court, UAM’s junior guard Marcus Baham (Paterson, N.J.) got a feed from junior Raymond Wright (New York, N.Y.) for a wide-open lay up that gave the Weevils a one-point edge.

After a UM missed jumper and a turnover by Wright, UM’s Eric Turner nailed a lay up with two minutes remaining to give the Falcons a 61-60 lead, but it was the last time either team would make a field goal.

Junior Duke Sturdivant (York, Ala.) missed a three-pointer on the other end, followed by a steal by Baham to force the Falcons to foul. Baham made both foul shots to give UAM another lead, this time 62-61.

The Weevils then breathed a sigh of relief after watching Montevallo’s Eric Turner commit a turnover with 42 seconds on the clock. However, a missed free-throw from Sturdivant allowed Montevallo a full 30 seconds to diagram a winning play. Fortunately for UAM, Eric Turner threw the ball out of bounds with three seconds on the clock to seal a victory for the Boll Weevils.

Wright led the Boll Weevils with his 12^th double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Sturdivant and junior Deron Brown (Paris, Ky.) finished with 11 points each. Montevallo’s Terrill Humphrey led all scorers with 30 points. He was a perfect 13 of 13 from the foul line.

With the win, the Weevils improve to 17-11 overall this season and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2008 GSC Basketball Championship Tournament to face North Alabama on Friday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the DeSoto Civic Center. North Alabama is the 2008 GSC East Champion.