BARBOURVILLE, Ky.— In a Thursday-night battle for current No. 1 spot in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) standings, the Montreat men's basketball team went into Barbourville, Ky. and defeated the Union College Bulldogs, 68-64, sweeping the regular-season series. With the win, the Cavaliers claimed their eighth victory in the last nine games and improved to 15-5 (13-4 AAC).
 
The first period proved to be a tale of two halves, with the Cavaliers dominating the opening stretch and the Bulldogs responding to close the frame.
 
After a Union 3-pointer opened the scoring on Thursday night, Montreat got to work inside the paint. Tyler Rodrigue, Eli Idlett, Noah Dunn and Sam Brown all combined to score Montreat's first five buckets, four of which came in the paint. Jamiel Wright and Jaylan Shelton got into the action around the rim as the first half wore on, and a Djongo-Alan Tchatchouang long-range strike launched the Cavaliers in front of Union, 26-9. The Cavaliers made 11 of their first 20 takes from the floor and turned six Union turnovers into nine points over the 10:12 stretch.
 
Union (13-8, 11-4 AAC), despite taking the early body blows, had an answer. The Bulldogs controlled the contest over the final 8:07 of the half, using a 15-2 run to nearly erase Montreat's lead (28-24). A few Cavalier baskets in the paint didn't dissuade the Bulldogs, as they drained a 3-pointer, hit a pair of free throws and added a jumper before the clock expired to whittled Montreat's lead down to just one, 32-31. The Bulldogs outscored the Cavaliers by 16 points (22-6) over the final 8:07 of the first half.
 
The Cavaliers connected on just three of their final 18 shots in the first half, dropping their overall field goal percentage to 36.8 (14-38 FG). Union shot a near identical percentage to Montreat (36.7 percent; 11-30 FG) and made just one fewer 3-pointer (4-3). The Bulldogs made all six of their free throw attempts, while the Cavaliers failed to reach the charity stripe in the opening half. Montreat's 14-4 edge in points off turnovers played a massive role in why it led by one at the half. Rodrigue led the way for the Cavaliers with eight points in a balanced-scoring attack, as all eight Cavaliers who saw action in the opening period made a basket.
 
Like the first half, the Cavaliers came out blazing to start the second frame. Rodrigue buried a 3-pointer to open the scoring, and then Tchatchouang took over from there. A tip-in, two jump shots and a layup gave Tchatchouang and the Cavaliers eight-straight points to retake a double-digit advantage less than four minutes in; however, the hosts countered quickly.
 
Two short spurts of five and six points clawed the Bulldogs back within a basket of Montreat. Three Union tip-ins and a 3-pointer suddenly tied the game up at 54 with 9:09 remaining in regulation, the first time in which the contest was tied since 5-5. One minute later, a Bulldog layup put Union on top for the first time since it held a 3-2 lead two minutes into the game.
 
Both teams traded blows over the final eight minutes, with the defensive intensity ratcheted up on each side of the floor. Neither side could quite take advantage of the slim openings to seize control of the game. The Cavaliers made their way to the free throw line 20 times in the second half, but made just nine of their attempts. Meanwhile, Union turned the ball over 12 times in the frame and 20 times overall.
 
Brown put the Cavaliers back on top, 62-61, with a perfect trip to the free throw line. Union answered moments later with a 3-pointer—their final points of the contest with 3:57 remaining in regulation—to jump back ahead by one (64-63). Dunn, who scored 14 of his Montreat-high 21 points in the second half, drilled what proved to be the game-winning triple with 2:43 remaining to give the Cavaliers the lead for good. Montreat split two pairs of free throws late and forced Union's 20^th turnover of the night with just three seconds remaining to seal the win, 68-64, and jump into first place in the AAC standings.
 
"That was a battle from the start, as always is the case with Union," said head coach Garrett Jones. "Union is so well-coached, and you really have to be at your best to win against that program."
 
Union held the edge in shooting from the floor (40.3 percent-36.1 percent) as well as the free throw line (70.0 percent-45.0 percent). Both teams also managed to hit seven 3-pointers. Montreat swung the contest in its favor with points off turnovers and fast break points, outscoring the Bulldogs 23-13 and 6-0, respectively.
 
Two Cavaliers joined Dunn in double figures in scoring. Tchatchouang scored his Montreat career-high with 14 points, while Rodrigue added a crucial 11 points. Mike Flenory helped the Cavaliers in every facet of the game, leading Montreat with 12 rebounds while adding five steals and two assists. Wright also picked Union's pocket on five occasions, and Shelton doled out two dimes.
 
"We knew it would be a 40-minute game, and we just wanted to be in the hunt with five minutes left," Jones noted. "Our guys made big plays down the stretch and found a way. We had numerous guys step up, and we will need that to continue moving forward."
 
The Montreat men's basketball team returns to action in less than 48 hours when it travels to Cleveland, Ga. on Saturday for a showdown against Truett McConnell University. Tipoff is currently set for 3:30 p.m.