KINGSPORT, Tenn.— Competing against the Union College Bulldogs in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament Championship game for the third time in the past four years, the Montreat men's basketball team dropped a nailbiter by a score of 84-79 to finish as the league's tournament runner-up. With the loss, the Cavaliers moved to 21-9 on the year prior to their nationals appearance.
 
Union (25-8) came out of the gates on fire from deep, connecting on four of its first six tries from three to build a 12-4 advantage and force a Montreat timeout only 3:29 into the contest. The lead was eventually stretched to 10; however, four points from Tyler Rodrigue, two from Noah Dunn and two from JaJa Davis fueled an 8-0 run that helped the Cavs creep within two (14-12) with 13:49 remaining in the initial period.
 
Following a Bulldogs stretch that put the team up six (26-20), the Cavaliers rattled off 11 consecutive points, capped off by a pair of 3-pointers from Eli Idlett that gave Montreat both its first lead of the game (28-26) and its largest advantage of the first frame at five (31-26) with 5:24 left before the half.
 
In a battle down the stretch of the first period, two ties and four lead changes guided the teams to the intermission. Dunn scored seven of the team's final nine points to captain the Cavs in scoring with 13 points, while Davis contributed with 11 and Rodrigue added nine as Montreat went into the second half with a slim 44-43 advantage. Idlett and Djongo-Alan Tchatchouang each paced the Cavaliers with four boards.
 
The Bulldogs shot better thanks to their quick start, draining 50.0 percent of overall shots (15-30 FG) and nine of their 21 threes (42.9 percent). Meanwhile, the Cavaliers, who knocked down 44.1 percent (15-34 FG) of their attempts and five of 16 3-pointers (31.3 percent), saw themselves ahead thanks to a 7-2 edge in points off turnovers and a 9-4 lead in free throws made through 20 minutes.
 
Two baskets immediately propelled the Cavs ahead by five once more to start the second half, but Union answered with an 8-3 run to knot the game at 51 just under five minutes into the period. Montreat utilized contributions from Dunn, Jamiel Wright and Mike Flenory to pull up by five again, but the Bulldogs fought back to lead 60-58 thanks to seven straight points before extending the run to 13-2 to go up by six midway through the frame.
 
The Cavs responded with a run of their own, using six consecutive points from Dunn coupled with a 7-0 stretch to hold a 73-71 advantage with 6:10 to go in regulation. The back-and-forth half continued as Union and Montreat traded runs with the Bulldogs scoring eight straight followed by four consecutive points out of a timeout from the Cavaliers to bring the score to 79-77 in favor of UC with 2:44 remaining in the game.
 
Over the final 2:43, the Cavs had a few good looks to close the gap or tie the competition late, but Montreat failed to connect on its last seven tries from the field as the Union claimed the matchup by five.
 
Though the Cavaliers outscored the Bulldogs 21-7 in second-chance points and out-hustled Union 16-8 on the offensive glass, a 30.3-percent shooting performance (10-33 FG) overall and 3-for-18 3-pt showing (16.7 percent) in the second half cost the Cavs in the waning minutes. The Bulldogs continued to shoot at 50.0-percent pace in the 20 minutes (14-28 FG), though the team cooled from three (3-11 3-pt FG).

"I want to first congratulate Union and the tremendous year they had," began head coach Garrett Jones. "This loss doesn't diminish at all how proud and grateful I am for the group of young men in our locker room. They continue to amaze me with their passion and heart," Jones said. 
 
Dunn, who collected 18 points in the second 20-minute period, ended with a team best 31 to go with eight rebounds, while Davis grabbed 10 boards in the latter half to lead the Cavaliers with 12, including seven offensive rebounds. Davis also scored 18 points to complete his double-double, and Rodrigue notched 11 points. With their performances throughout the AAC Tournament, Dunn and Davis each notched spots on the All-Tournament Team.

"This is a special group and I'm excited we have more basketball ahead," Jones stated. "We look forward to participating in the national championships. I'm really excited for these guys; they earned it," finished Jones.
 
Men's basketball now looks forward to the opening round of the NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament, which will take place at 16 different sites around the nation. Games will be played on March 11 with winners advancing to play on March 12 for a chance to go to the final site in Kansas City, Mo.