FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - No. 18 Florida Southern men's basketball resisted Montevallo's late rally to secure an 86-83 first round win in the 2025 NCAA Division II South Region Championship at Rick Case Arena at Nova Southeastern University. The Moccasins led by 11 points with three minutes to play and held off the charging Falcons for the three-point win.
"One win down, and how a quick turnaround to prepare for another tough challenge tomorrow," Head Coach
Mike Donnelly stated. "Proud of our effort today against a good Montevallo team. We defended much better in the second half and made enough winning plays to pull out a big win to advance to the second round."
Florida Southern (26-8) saw five players score in double-figures where
Peyton Gerald notched the game's lone double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Gerald would add four assists, three steals, and three blocks in the win.
Jadin Booth paced the Moccasins in scoring with 19 points
, and Joe Moon IV was right behind at 17.
Kristians Feierbergs and
Dominick Denny rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Alex Steen finished with seven points and five rebounds with
Amare Miller hauling in four rebounds and scoring two points, a 2-for-2 performance from the free throw line.
Montevallo (20-11) bows out of the tournament after a pair of players dropped 20-plus-points with Derek Moore (23) and Brandon Fussell (21) leading the way. Jaylen Curry was close behind with 18 points.
A slow start for the Red and White as the Falcons rushed out to an early lead. Florida Southern would cut the deficit but Montevallo would push to a nine-point lead, the largest of the game for the Falcons, with 11 minutes to play, 22-13.
A
Jadin Booth three, followed by a trip to the line for three free throws tied the game at 31 all with 4:37 to go before
Peyton Gerald's tip-in layup put the Mocs ahead 33-32. Florida Southern would eventually push it to eight points, 42-34, on another Booth three but Montevallo rallied again and closed the first half on a 7-2 run bringing the halftime score to 44-41.
Back-to-back buckets by the Falcons put Montevallo back in front but a short-lived lead was had after the Moccasins'
Joe Moon IV hit a three on a fast break, 49-47. Florida Southern outscored Montevallo 20-10 over the next seven minutes for a 10-point advantage, 69-59.
Gerald and
Kristians Feierbergs scored on back-to-back possessions to keep Florida Southern ahead by 11, 81-70 and 83-72, but with the season on the line, answered the Mocs' call and rallied to cut it to single digits and a two-point game, 85-83 with nine seconds to play. Florida Southern missed four key free throws down the stretch but a shooter's bounce for
Jadin Booth made it a three-point game with three seconds to play.
Tough defensive pressure by Florida Southern kept Montevallo from getting a wide-open look for three as the last second heave was off the mark and the final horn sounded, 86-83.
No. 18 Florida Southern will await its opponent for the NCAA South Region Semifinal set for Sunday, March 16 at 5 p.m. The Moccasins will face the familiar SSC foe, Tampa Spartans or the GSC champions No. 3 Alabama-Huntsville Chargers.
