GREENVILLE, S.C.— The Montreat men's basketball team capped off the 2021 portion of its schedule with a victory over the Calvary University Warriors in South Carolina Friday afternoon. With the 91-65 neutral-site triumph, the Cavaliers improved to 8-4 heading into the holiday break.
 
Montreat stormed out of the gate early, creating opportunities and open looks to score the initial 12 points of the contest. After the opening 3:02 of the game during which Noah Dunn tallied six points and Tyler Rodrigue added five, the Warriors went on an extended 16-7 run to cut the Cavs' advantage to only three points (19-16).
 
Over the second portion of the first half, 3-point shooting aided the Cavaliers, who expanded their lead to as many as 20 points in the frame. The Cavs began the competition 8-for-17 from beyond the arc and shot 51.3 percent (20-39 FG) overall in the opening period. Montreat had seven players contribute during a 10-minute-long 30-13 run, including four makes from deep that fueled the latter part of the stretch.
 
Rodrigue wrapped up the first half with his fourth 3-pointer to restore the Cavs' 20-point lead (52-32) at the break. The transfer concluded the period with a game-high 16 points thanks to his perfect 4-4 performance from behind the arc, while Dunn, who connected on four threes as well, ended the first with 12 points. Rodrigue finished the game with his team-best 16 points to go with seven boards and Dunn collected 15 total points with six rebounds.
 
Montreat held Calvary to just 38.5 percent (10-26 FG) shooting in the first half and translated nine Warrior turnovers into 17 points to claim its large advantage. The Cavs out-rebounded Calvary 25-12 on the boards, which would prove to be a telling sign of the contest in the second half.
 
Following a JaJa Davis basket to start the second half that gave the Cavaliers a 22-point edge, Calvary whittled its deficit down to only 12 6:53 into the period due to a 16-6 run. Davis finished the game with 12 points, making five of his seven shots on the afternoon and grabbing seven rebounds.
 
Jaylan Shelton then poured in seven of his 13 second-half points during a quick 9-0 run over 2:12 that handed Montreat a 21-point lead (71-50) midway through the latter frame. The West Point, Miss. native scored the next two points for the Cavaliers and finished the day with 15 points.
 
Despite a 1-of-12 clip from three during the second half, eight different Cavs scored down the stretch to secure their 26-point triumph. Djongo-Alan Tchatchouang notched five late points to become the fifth Cavalier in double-digits in scoring with 10 points. He tied Rodrigue and Davis for the team-high in rebounds with seven. All 10 Cavs who saw playing time tallied at least four points and a rebound.
 
Overall, Montreat cruised to victory by out-shooting and out-rebounding its opposition. The Cavaliers made 49.2 percent (32-65 FG) of their shot attempts compared to Calvary's 40.0 percent (22-55 FG). The Warriors, who were out-rebounded by 19 (43-24) on the glass, only drained nine of their 33 tries from three (27.3 percent) as the Cavs created 10 more shots than their opposition over the course of the competition.
 
The men's basketball team will now take a short break for the holidays before battling Truett McConnell on Jan. 5. Tipoff between the Bears and the Cavaliers in Montreat is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.