MILLIGAN, Tenn.— The Montreat men's basketball team made the most of forcing 22 turnovers Tuesday night as the Cavaliers scored 27 points off those takeaways to win their third consecutive game against their rival, the Milligan University Buffaloes, 78-75. With the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) triumph in Milligan, Tenn., the Cavs' record improved to 8-4 (7-3 AAC) on the season.
 
Gabriel Rivera provided a spark off the bench to push the Cavaliers in front of Milligan early. Behind Rivera's back-to-back triples and his basket in the paint, Montreat utilized the newcomer's 8-0 spurt to double up the Buffaloes 6:01 into the contest (16-8). Then Tyler Murray, Jarden Maze and Michael Erbeck all scored at the rim in the ensuing minutes to extend the Cav lead to double digits midway through the half. Thanks to an 8-for-16 start from the floor coupled with Milligan's 3-for-12 showing, Montreat sat in a good position up 23-11.
 
Milligan (4-6, 4-5 AAC) sorted itself out during a timeout, however, and the Buffaloes completely controlled the latter half of the frame. The Buffs drilled their first 3-pointer of the night coming out of the timeout, and they went on an 18-2 run over 6:06 to seize their first multi-possession lead of the ballgame (29-25). Montreat missed 10 consecutive shots during the Milligan run as an Erbeck layup ended a six-and-a-half-minute field goal drought.
 
Jamiel Wright and Maze each gave the Cavs a lead in the waning moments of the first half, but a 7-0 Buffaloes run over the final 1:54 saw the hosts lead at the halftime break, 40-34.
 
After starting 3-of-12 overall, Milligan ended the half by making 10 of its last 12 field goal attempts, bringing its shooting percentage up to 54.2 percent (13-24 FG). The Buffaloes also took 18 free throws during the initial half, making 11 (61.1 percent). On the flip side, Montreat made just three of its final 18 looks from the field, shooting 32.4 percent (11-34 FG) through 20 minutes. The Cavaliers held a 10-5 turnover edge but were outrebounded by seven (20-13).
 
Rivera led Montreat with eight first-half points, while Wright, Maze and Erbeck each contributed six points. Maze and Flenory grabbed three rebounds apiece, and Flenory dished out a trio of assists prior to the intermission.
 
Darius Bryant connected on three 3-pointers early in the second half, and Maze added five points of his own to whittle the Cav deficit down to 51-50 after 6:41 had elapsed off the clock. Moments later, Maze scored in the paint as the visitors notched their first lead of the second half, 54-53. While the second half featured five ties, Maze's layup ensured that the Cavaliers did not trail over the final 11:33.
 
In a tightly-contested second half, Montreat momentarily snatched some separation by scoring on six of seven possessions from the 7:50 mark to the 5:12 mark. Tyler Murray and Tyler Rodrigue combined for nine points during the span, while Rivera and Maze each added two points as the Cavs moved in front by six (69-63).
 
Milligan leveled the score one last time at 69-69, but two more Maze baskets paired with a Wright triple put Montreat in the driver's seat, 76-71, with 79 seconds remaining. Rivera added another bucket with three seconds left in regulation to put the Cavs up 78-75, and the Buffaloes' potential game-tying 3-pointer fell off the mark to ultimately give the Cavaliers their fourth straight win overall and their third straight victory over Milligan.
 
"They don't ask how you win; they ask did you win," said head coach Anthony Barringer. "I'm proud of our fight in the second half. At halftime, our guys decided that we were going to do the stuff that we do every day, and the result went in our favor. We're thankful to be sitting where we are at Christmas Break. We look to finish the semester strong with two non-conference games."
 
The Buffaloes shot a higher percentage overall (48.0 percent to 40.6 percent) and attempted 16 more free throws (34-18) than the Cavs Tuesday night, but the visitors relied on a significant turnover disparity to make up the difference. Montreat turned 22 Milligan turnovers into 27 points while surrendering just seven of its own turnovers for six points. The Cavs went 28-for-69 from the floor and 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc compared to the Buffs' 24-of-50 overall showing and 4-for-16 (25.0 percent) effort from deep. Milligan also hit 67.6 percent of its free throws (23-34 FT).
 
Maze paced all players with 19 points and four steals, and he led the Cavaliers with five boards. The Sandersville, Ga. native also tied Flenory and Wright with a team-high three assists. Rivera scored his most points as a Cav with his 14-point performance, and Bryant (12) reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time in five games.
 
The Montreat men's basketball team hosts Regent University next for a non-conference contest this Friday. Tipoff inside McAlister Gymnasium is slated for 5:30 p.m.