Falcons Go 2-0 in Southeastern Classic, Defeat Truett-McConnell

LAKELAND, Fla. - The Florida College Falcons won their third game in a row, defeating the Truett-McConnell Bears 76-71 on Saturday afternoon.

The Falcons trailed early, 6-2, but they'd rally to go on a 16-0 run to take an 18-6 lead. Once they took the lead with 17:14 remaining in the first half, they never trailed or tied again. The Falcons' defense was the reason for the first-half success. The Bears were stuck at 11 points until under 4 minutes left in the second half. They'd go on their own rally to trail by 12 at the intermission. The lead got as large as 18 in the first half for FC.

The second half saw TMU continue their momentum, scoring 10 compared to just 4 for FC in the first few minutes. The Bears would claw into the Falcons lead all game long, but FC always found a way to fend them off. The lead shrunk to just one point with 10:46 remaining in the game. FC would use a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 11 (the largest of the second half). Jalon Perry was responsible for 6 of those 10 points. TMU would continue to fight to cut the lead within 4, but the Falcons held on for victory.

The Falcons shot a putrid 3-of-20 from three-point land. They entered the game 4th in the country in three's made per game at 12.8 at a 40% clip. Their offensive rebounding saved them from a disaster of an offensive showing. The secured 17 offensive rebounds in the game, a season-high. Jalon Perry led FC in scoring with 22 points in 35 minutes of action. Perry has scored 22 or more for three consecutive games (counting the exhibition game against USF). Matt Simpson contributed 17 points and 9 rebounds while battling foul trouble all afternoon long. Ladarron Cleveland added 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists. Bryan Chong chipped in 10 points as well. EJ Wynn stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. His energy was very notable all weekend long. Ray Cao returned to the floor for the Falcons after missing consecutive games due to injury. He put up 5 points and 7 boards in 13 minutes off the bench.

The Falcons led for 77 of the 80 minutes in the two games played at the Southeastern Classic.

"That wasn't the prettiest showing we've had this year, but we did what we had to in order to win the game," said coach Teichmann. "The defensive execution in the first half was phenomenal. I wish we would have finished the half stronger. I feel like Truett really carried that momentum over into the second half. We rebounded the ball extremely well this weekend, which was a focus for us. We will look at the film and correct our mistakes and try to be better on Monday night."

The 24 points allowed in the first half is a season-low for the Falcons. The win puts the Falcons at 7-3 on the season. They are winners of 5 out of their last 6 games. They return to Conn Gymnasium on Monday, December 14 at 7:30 PM (ET) to take on the Johnson University Suns.