Falcons Soar Back to Beat Ave Maria

AVE MARIA, Fla. - The Florida College Falcons went on the road for the first time this season and beat the Ave Maria University Gyrenes for the second time in five days, 77-71.

The Falcons got off to another slow start, trailing by nine at the half. The offensive rebounds continued to be a problem area for FC. They trailed Ave Maria 9 to 1 in that category at the half.

The second half didn't start much better as the Falcons dug their hole deeper, trailing 52-40 a few minutes in.

The Falcons eventually flipped a switch, led by Ladarron "Phat" Cleveland. Cleveland, who battled an injury suffered in warmups, ripped off 10 straight points for the road team. The Falcons took their first lead of the game on a fast-break bucket by Matt Simpson with 5 minutes left. They would never relinquish it, finishing off the Gyrenes down the stretch with defensive stops and clutch baskets. Bryan Chong hit a dagger three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining to go up 6.

The Falcons were led in scoring by Matt Simpson, who posted another double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds. Phat Cleveland put up 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists (13 points in the second half). Ryan Wilcox added 12 points off the bench. Jalon Perry added 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

"Really proud of the resiliency our players showed tonight," said Coach Teichmann. "We played extremely poorly in the first half and even early second half, but we finally got it together and played the brand of basketball that we are asking them to play. This one was special, being our first road win. We've got to heal up quickly and get ready for this weekend."

The Falcons (3-2) head to Montgomery, Ala. this weekend to take on the Crowley's Ridge College Pioneers on Friday and the Freed-Hardeman University Lions on Saturday in a neutral site classic, hosted by Faulkner University.