COLUMBIA, S.C.— Playing its second game in three days, the Montreat men's basketball team trailed from the opening basket until the final whistle on Saturday at the Columbia International University Rams, 90-85. The defeat dropped Montreat to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). 
 
CIU sprinted out of the gates, scoring on its first three possessions for an early 6-0 edge, an advantage it wouldn't relinquish in the opening half. JaJa Davis responded quickly for the Cavaliers and got Montreat on the board early as well, pouring in six of his squad's first nine points to draw the Cavs within two (11-9). The Cavaliers continued to remain within shouting distance of the Rams through the first 9:49, never trailing by more than two possessions.
 
After a fairly even opening 10 minutes, the Rams started to expand on their slim lead. Entering the second half of the opening frame, CIU used an 11-3 run to leap out to its first double-digit edge (32-22). From 6:05 to 2:56 remaining in the period, the Rams maintained a three-to-four-possession lead over Montreat. The Cavaliers made a late charge and even closed to within a bucket of CIU (38-35), but they couldn't clear that final hurdle and the Rams pushed the score out to 42-35 as the half came to an end.
 
Columbia International (4-3, 2-3 AAC) had more success from the field in the first half, taking 11 more shots than Montreat while hitting on 48.6 percent (18-37 FG) of its attempts. The Cavaliers went 11 of 26 (42.3 percent) overall from the field and four for 12 (33.3 percent) on 3-point looks. While the Cavaliers made eight more free throws than the Rams, CIU converted nine Montreat first-half turnovers into 12 points. Davis led the Cavaliers with eight points and three rebounds through 20 minutes of game action.
 
Davis, arguably Montreat's best player in the first half, had an early dunk that once again drew the Cavaliers within a single basket (42-39); however, two quick fouls put him in early foul trouble, and the Rams capitalized.
 
Leading by just three points, CIU went on an 18-3 run to blow the game wide open. The Rams attacked the rim and finished four baskets right around the hoop to jump out to a 60-42 lead. Montreat immediately tried to answer and cut the deficit to 14 behind two Evan Davis buckets, but the Rams didn't break and hit back-to-back triples to lead by 20 (66-46).
 
"Hats off to CIU," said head coach Garrett Jones. "They really set the tone from the start, and unfortunately we weren't able to match them."
 
From 13:45 to 5:22 left in the second half, the Rams kept the Cavaliers offense quiet and ultimately seized its largest lead of the game (85-63). Despite the deficit, Montreat slowly started to chip away. Largely led by the Montreat bench, the Cavaliers outscored the Rams over the final 5:15 by 17 points (22-5); however, time wasn't on Montreat's side, and the Rams were able to outlast the Cavaliers push to the finish line by five.
 
Jones noted, "I'm proud how our group continued to battle, but in this league, you have to put together 40 good minutes of basketball. We will need to figure out how to be more consistent if we want to win games."
 
Like they did in the first half, the Rams held an edge in shooting from the field in the second. CIU finished the contest 51.5 percent from the floor (35-68 FG) and 34.6 percent from 3-point range (9-26 FG). The Cavaliers made twice as many free throws as the Rams (22-11) but shot just 42.9 percent overall (27-63 FG).
 
Noah Dunn led Montreat in several statistical categories on the afternoon with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Evan Davis scored his most points as a Cavalier with 15, while JaJa Davis and Jamiel Wright both contributed 10 points.
 
Montreat men's basketball squeezes in one more contest before Thanksgiving on Tuesday at St. Andrews University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.