ROME, Ga. – The Shorter Hawks dropped a close one to the University of Montevallo on Friday night at the Winthrop-King Centre by the score of 66-63.

Both teams were sloppy at the beginning of the game but settled down later in the first half. The game was highly competitive and was tied at halftime at 31, thanks to a layup by Shorter's Ralph Barnett with 33 seconds left in the period.

The second half was very competitive as well. The deciding moment of the game came with 1:23 left in regulation when Montevallo's Travarus Carroll knocked down two clutch free-throws to stretch the visitors' lead to five. That lead proved to be insurmountable for the Hawks, as the Falcons hung on for the 66-63 victory.

Montevallo's James McNeil stood out the most on the night, as he put up a game-high 23 points (including four 3-pointers). Teammate Xavier Malcom finished second on the Falcons with 16 points. Carroll was a beast on the boards, as he grabbed 19 rebounds and added 11 points and seven assists.

Shorter's Jay Shropshire led the home side with 20 points on the night. Mark Wilcox Jr. finished second on the team with 16 points and added eight rebounds and three steals. Jaden Dunham led the Hawks in rebounds with nine.

The Hawks (4-12) will be back in action at the Winthrop-King Centre on Saturday, as they will play their final game of the season against Montevallo (7-8) at 2 p.m.