MONTREAT, N.C.— A tale of two halves took place inside McAlister Gymnasium Wednesday afternoon as the Montreat men's basketball team faced the Truett McConnell University Bears. After trailing by 18 points in the first half, the Cavs mounted an impressive comeback in the latter half behind a career-high 34 points from JaJa Davis to secure an 82-72 overtime victory over the Bears. With the triumph, Montreat improved to 9-4 (7-3 AAC) on the year and remained undefeated (5-0) at home.
 
In the early going, the Cavaliers struggled to find their groove, connecting on just two of their 12 initial attempts from the field and going without a make in 12 tries from deep. TMU knocked down five of its first 13 shots to start the game, which allowed the visitors to go up double digits only eight minutes into the competition.
 
One of the nation's top scoring teams in the Cavs (averaging 90.4 points per game coming into the day) were held to single digits for nearly 14 minutes of play, while the Bears continued to be efficient from inside the arc. Due to the effectiveness, Truett McConnell grew the Cavaliers' deficit to as many as 18 in the opening frame.
 
Davis cut into the TMU lead with five straight points, including Montreat's lone 3-pointer of the opening half; however, his nine first-period points were not enough to keep pace with the Bears. The Cavs committed 14 first-half turnovers, resulting directly in 14 Bears points. The visitors shot 45.7 percent (16-35 FG) to the Cavaliers' 25.0 percent (8-32 FG), as the teams went into the locker room with a 37-19 scoreline.
 
Following the less-than-impressive 20 minutes, Montreat immediately utilized a 13-4 run to cut its deficit to single digits (41-32) and get back on track. Back-to-back triples from Jalen Roberson and Noah Dunn pulled the Cavaliers to within five (43-38) with 12:49 remaining, leaving plenty of time for the home team to erase the Bears' advantage.
 
After battling through a series of Truett McConnell possessions, Davis trimmed the Bears' lead to under five for the first time since the 6:41 mark of the first half with an and-one 15:22 into the latter frame. The Cavaliers continued to chip away at their deficit, showing resilience to level the contest at 66 thanks to a Davis and-one and a Jamiel Wright layup with under a minute to go in regulation. Montreat tallied 47 points in the second, compared to TMU's mere 29, as the Cavs shot 60.0 percent (18-30 FG) to force overtime.
 
Noah Dunn played an integral part in the comeback, making eight of his 11 attempts in the latter frame to score 20 of his 22 points. He finished the day with season-highs in rebounds (14) and assists (5) en route to his third double-double of the year. Jalen Roberson added all seven of his points in the second.
 
Davis scored the opening five points of the extra period, a frame in which the Cavaliers made seven of their eight shots to outscore the Bears 16-6 and take the contest by 10. The senior notched 25 points in the second half and overtime alone, completing his career 34-point performance and sealing the comeback. He added nine boards on the afternoon.
 
Overall, the Cavs resurrected their shooting percentage to 47.1 percent (33-70 FG), while Truett McConnell made 43.9 percent (29-66 FG) of its tries in the competition. The Bears ailed from the charity stripe, going 11-of-22 from the line, and the Cavaliers evened up both categories of points in the paint (44 points each) and points off turnovers (19-17 Montreat), categories that were lopsided in TMU's favor heading into the second half. The overtime victory marks the first time since Nov. 20, 2019 the Cavaliers won an overtime game (were 0-5 during the stretch).
 
Men's basketball returns to action against Reinhardt University on Saturday. Tipoff in McAlister Gymnasium is set for 4:00 p.m.