WEST POINT, Ga.— The Montreat men's basketball team put its five-game Appalachian Athletic Conference winning streak on the line Tuesday night in a road battle against the Point University Skyhawks. Montreat proved up to the task, soaring past the Skyhawks to the tune of a 77-62 victory. The triumph gave the Cavaliers their sixth straight win in conference play and improved their season record to 11-4 (9-3 AAC).
 
Mike Flenory helped the Cavaliers set the tone early by contributing to nearly all facets of the game. Within the first four minutes of play, Flenory snagged three rebounds, tallied two steals, added one block and threw in an assist for good measure. That energy carried over to Montreat's defensive effort, which forced seven turnovers less than nine minutes in. Turnovers quickly transitioned to good looks on the offensive end of the floor, spurring a 14-0 run that saw Montreat sprint ahead of Point early, 18-7.
 
After two Point baskets cut the Montreat lead to six (18-12), Noah Dunn and JaJa Davis took over. In nearly 10 minutes of game action, Dunn and Davis combined to score 16 of Montreat's final 18 points heading into the half. The Cavalier pair held off Point's charge, always maintaining at least a two-possession lead as the Cavs entered the intermission up by seven (36-29).
 
The Cavaliers fared better than the Skyhawks in overall shooting percentage, converting at a 41 percent clip from the floor compared to Point's 33 percent performance; however, 17 of Point's 33 shot attempts came from behind the arc, and the high volume of 3-point attempts gave the Skyhawks a slight edge in 3-point makes through 20 minutes of play (5-3). Davis (13) and Dunn (12) combined for 25 points in the opening half, while Flenory grabbed seven boards.
 
Continuing his torrid close to the first half, Davis scored the first 10 Montreat points of the second frame to cap off nearly a 10-minute stretch in which Davis scored all 17 Cavalier points. A Jaylan Shelton layup ended the streak, and two Dunn triples gave Montreat its largest lead to that point at 56-40.
 
Point (8-8, 4-6 AAC) used a 9-2 spurt to get back within single digits at 58-49, but the Cavaliers were more than prepared to answer. Thanks to nine points from Dunn, Montreat utilized a 15-5 stretch to build what ultimately proved to be its largest lead of the night, 75-54. The Cavs led by at least two possessions for the final 33:40 en route to a 77-62 road win at Point.
 
"I'm proud of our group for coming out ready to compete," said head coach Garrett Jones. "Road league games are always a big test, and our guys were up to the challenge tonight."
 
Montreat held the edge over the Skyhawks in shooting percentage across the board, connecting with higher efficiency from behind the arc (38 percent to 26 percent), at the free throw line (87 percent to 50 percent) and overall from the field (46 percent to 35 percent). The Cavs also owned advantages over Point in rebounds (46-38) and assists (16-8).
 
Dunn (29) and Davis (25) combined to score 54 of the Cavaliers' 77 points. Davis also added 10 rebounds to complete his seventh double-double of the season. Flenory led Montreat with four steals, while Shelton stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds and five assists.
 
"Point has a very talented team, but our group was really locked in," Jones noted. "We will need to continue to improve, but we are taking some positive steps, and that's a credit to our players."
 
The Montreat men's basketball team returns home for its next contest on Saturday against Bluefield University. Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m. inside McAlister Gymnasium.