ATHENS, Tenn.— The Montreat men's basketball team traveled to Athens, Tenn. to take on the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup Wednesday evening. In the closely-contested competition, the Cavaliers dropped a 98-96 decision in overtime, falling to 1-1 (1-1 AAC) on the year.
 
The teams traded early 7-2 runs as both squads settled into the competition looking for the upper hand in the matchup. Following the 9-9 tie, the Cavaliers struggled to score for a significant span in the first half. Montreat went 7:53 in between made field goals as Tennessee Wesleyan connected on seven attempts during the same stretch to lead by 15 with 9:02 remaining in the first period.
 
The Cavs resurrected their 25 percent (3-12 FG) shooting percentage after the drought, trimming their deficit to single digits (36-27) by draining six of their next nine shots.
 
Montreat continued to push the pace, drawing fouls and crashing the offensive glass to pull closer to the Bulldogs. Effort by the Cavaliers on both sides of the ball resulted in 13 drawn fouls and four late offensive rebounds. The Cavs defense held TWU without a make from the field for the final 4:57 of the half, and the visitors closed the frame with a 16-3 run that cut the Tennessee Wesleyan lead to a mere two points (37-35) at the break.
 
JaJa Davis captained Montreat in the opening frame, scoring 12 points and grabbing an impressive nine rebounds, while Noah Dunn added nine points and four boards. The Cavs shot 41.4 percent (12-29 FG) in the half compared to TWU's 37.5 percent (15-40 FG). Though the home team took 11 more shots than the Cavaliers, Montreat held a 16-5 advantage at the free throw line.
 
In the foul-filled initial moments of the second period, the Cavs efficiently capitalized on opportunities to take hold of the game. Dunn utilized an and-one to give Montreat its first lead since the 15:09 mark of the first half, but the Cavaliers weren't done, creating additional chances in the following minutes. The Cavs went on a 12-0 stretch to lead by double-digits (56-46) 6:06 into the latter period.
 
TWU (5-1, 2-0 AAC) captured 14 of the next 18 points to knot the contest at 60; however, Montreat responded with a Dunn layup to reclaim a slim advantage.
 
The back-and-forth second half, which featured nine ties and nine lead changes, could not be decided in the final minutes. Trailing 76-70 with just over three minutes remaining, the Cavaliers rallied thanks to 11 consecutive points, fueled by six of Evan Davis' 10 points on the night. Though the Cavs had a late advantage, TWU erased its deficit with back-to-back buckets and answered an Evan Davis layup with a basket to tie the game at 83 with only three seconds left to force extra basketball.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan outscored Montreat 15-13 over the additional five minutes of action, edging the visitors by two to hand the Cavs their first loss of the season.
 
Overall, Dunn finished with a game-high 33 points and nine rebounds, while JaJa Davis ended with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double, his second in an many games this year. Eli Idlett rounded out the double-digit scorers by contributing 15 points to the scoresheet.
 
Men's basketball returns home on Saturday for a matchup against Johnson University – Tennessee. Tipoff inside McAlister Gymnasium is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.