BLUEFIELD, Va.— The Montreat men's basketball team used a strong defensive effort and an efficient shooting game to cruise past the Bluefield University Rams on the road Saturday afternoon. Thanks to the 93-63 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) victory, the Cavs moved to 7-4 overall and 6-3 in AAC action for the 2022-23 campaign.
 
A slow start hampered the Cavaliers, who missed their initial four tries of the contest, as Bluefield led 6-2 early; however, the visitors immediately responded and began knocking down shots. Four points from Jamiel Wright aided Montreat to a 7-6 advantage before the teams traded leads nine times in the ensuing possessions.
 
Three-pointers helped the Cavs keep and extend their edge midway through the period. Montreat, who connected on six attempts from deep in the opening 20 minutes, drained back-to-back 3s to go up 27-20 with 6:02 left until the intermission.
 
After a jumper by Bluefield with 5:56 on the clock, the Cavaliers pushed hard defensively, which translated to easy baskets in transition. The Cavs scored the final 17 points of the frame over the remaining nearly six minutes. Montreat utilized several turnovers to notch layups during the span as the visitors led the turnover battle 11-3 at the break. The visitors doubled the Rams up at the half (44-22) thanks largely to a 16-0 lead in points off turnovers and an 8-0 advantage in steals.
 
Wright (3-3 FG) captained the Cavs, who shot 51.5 percent (17-33 FG) through the first half, with nine points. Eight different players made a shot, and five separate Cavaliers scored from behind the arc, which contributed to a 33.3 percent clip (6-18 3pt FG) for the team. Tyler Rodrigue and Tyler Murray each scored seven points, while Jarden Maze added six points and a team-best six boards in the initial period.
 
The second frame began in a similar fashion as the first, with Bluefield scoring. Though the Rams quickly trimmed their deficit to 17 (44-27), a stretch by the Cavaliers allowed the visitors to reestablish their largest advantage of the game.
 
In a game in which 11 Cavs made buckets, five separate players powered Montreat to a 23-point edge (57-34) just 6:42 into the latter half. Darius Bryant then tallied a pair of his five makes from beyond the arc as the 3-point shooting ramped up once again. Rodrigue connected on three second-half triples, leading the Cavaliers, who shot 43.8 percent (14-32 3pt FG) from deep, with 16 points in the competition. Bryant also tabbed double digits in scoring with 15 points.

"This is what it looks like when we do what we do every day. I'm really happy with the way our guys executed offensively and defensively," said head coach Anthony Barringer. "We created chaos on the defensive side of the ball and did a great job of controlling the tempo offensively. Everyone that stepped on the floor contributed in a positive way. You love to see that. Now we prepare for Milligan and look to finish the first half of conference play strong," Barringer concluded.
 
Fueled by the longball and tenacious defense, Montreat cruised for the latter portion of the second half, leading by as many as 30 in its 93-63 triumph. Although the Rams made 40.0 percent (26-65 FG) of their tries from the field, the Cavaliers registered 36 makes on 68 field goals (52.9 percent) to build a large advantage. The Cavs also forced 18 turnovers to Bluefield's nine, while winning the points off turnovers category 21-7.
 
Maze ended with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to complete his third double-double of the season. Wright finished with 13 points as well to round out the Cavs in double figures.
 
Men's basketball returns to play on the road at Milligan on Tuesday. Tipoff in Tennessee is currently scheduled for 7:30 p.m.