GREENWOOD – No. 10 ranked Montevallo University and the Lander Bearcats fought a close battle, then endured a tornado warning delay in the second half before Montevallo was able to pull away for a 71-58 Peach Belt Conference victory Tuesday night at Horne Arena.

Lander fell to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the Peach Belt. The Falcons improved to 5-0, 1-0.

Calvin Liptrot led the Bearcats with 14 points, David Pruett scored 13 points, Jermel Kennedy and Pruett shared team-high honors with six rebounds apiece, and Tovi Bailey added six assists.

Antoine Davis led Montevallo with 14 points, including 10 key points down the stretch. Cecil Coleman added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Ronald Severtsgaard had 11 points and six boards.

Montevallo led 57-51 with 5:04 left when the horn sounded at the scorer's table and the teams and many fans were cleared from the gym floor into interior hallways due to the tornado warning.

Twenty-two seconds were left on the shot clock and Montevallo had the ball when the delay occurred. After about a 20-minute delay, play resumed and the Falcons' Davis hit a leaner for a 59-51 lead. Miles Beatty got a steal and Davis scored again, increasing the lead to 10, 61-51, with 4:38 to go.

The Bearcats responded to Montevallo's run as they had all night with Bailey hitting a jumper at the 4:03 mark and Kennedy converting a three-point play to cut the deficit to 61-56 with 3:18 to go.

But Severtsgaard made a layup off a nice inside pass from Tyrell Coleman at the 2:46 mark and Cecil Coleman scored with 1:48 left to make it 65-56. Lander continued to battle with Darion Canty scoring on a jumper in the lane, pulling the Bearcats within 65-58 at the 1:19 mark.

But Davis increased Montevallo's lead back to nine with an inside basket with 1:06 to go, and after a Lander 3-point attempt was off the mark, the Falcons began to put the game away. Davis hit four of four free throws in the final minute to finish the scoring.

Lander's defense came out strong, holding the Falcons to 2-for-8 shooting and only five points in the first seven-plus minutes of the game while forcing four turnovers.

Montevallo's two baskets came early and then the Bearcats scored nine unanswered points, breaking a 4-all tie. Liptrot's jumper made it 10-4 at the 15:18 mark and Kennedy's 3-pointer from the top of the key increased the lead to 13-4 with 13:30 left.

After Jonas Brown's layup pulled the Falcons within 13-7, Pruett converted a four-point play for Lander. He hit a 3-pointer, was fouled, and made the free throw, giving the Bearcats a 17-7 lead with 11:50 to go.

Montevallo began heating up, with 3-pointers by Beatty, Demarcus Richard and Ryan Westbrooks helping the Falcons rally within 19-18 at the six-minute mark.

Severtsgaard's mid-range jumper gave Montevallo a 20-19 lead, Westbrooks added another trey, and Severtsgaard scored on a put-back to complete an 18-2 run for a 25-19 advantage with 3:30 to go.

Liptrot hit a 3-pointer to end Lander's eight-minute scoring drought, and Stefan Tabasevic also hit a 3 to pull the Bearcats within 27-25 with 2:28 left. Lander had gone from the 11:14 to the 2:59 marks without scoring.

Montevallo led 33-25 at halftime, outscoring the Bearcats 26-8 over the last 11 minutes of the half.

Lander scored the first five points of the second half, pulling within 33-30 on Liptrot's fast-break layup, Canty's jumper and Liptrot's free throw. But the Falcons regained their eight-point lead, 40-32 with 14:30 left, on Coleman's basket in the paint. On the team's next possession, Severtsgaard scored in the lane to give Montevallo its first double-digit lead.

Mac Mitchell and Pruett scored fast-break points in the paint to pull the Bearcats within six. But Beatty hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the visitors their largest lead of the game, 48-36, with 11:40 to go.

Lander closed back within seven, 48-41, when Pruett scored five consecutive points, including a three-point play, and an offensive rebound basket off the glass.

But Montevallo responded one again, with Brown making a 3-pointer from the left corner to increase its lead back to double digits, 52-41, inside the 10-minute mark.

Mitchell hit four of four free throws and Pruett added two more to pull the Bearcats within 52-47 with eight minutes left. Meanwhile, storms were brewing outside and would become a factor in a game at Finis Horne Arena probably for the first time ever.

Lander hit 21 of 55 shots in the game (38 percent), 12 of 20 free throws (60 percent), and four of 21 fom 3-point range (19 percent).

The Falcons made 25 of 51 shots (49 percent), 14 of 24 free throws (58 percent), and seven of 25 from behind the arc (28 percent).

Montevallo had a 35-32 edge on the boards and committed 17 turnovers to Lander's 11.