MONTREAT, N.C.— The Montreat men's basketball team utilized a massive overtime period against the Columbia International University Rams inside McAlister Gymnasium to defeat the Rams 80-70 Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Cavaliers improved to 11-7 overall and 9-6 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play.
 
The Cavs' defense proved effective in the first few minutes as CIU went 1-for-9, allowing Montreat to storm out front early, 9-5; however, a series of turnovers coupled with a scoring drought helped the visitors use six straight points to go up 11-9. The Cavalier defense then aided Montreat to an 8-1 stretch as the home team created a 5-point advantage (17-12) thanks to scoring on four straight possessions midway through the initial half.
 
Both squads continued to trade runs as offense prevailed for the ensuing moments. The Rams hit five of six shots, but the Cavs connected on five of seven tries to stay within a point (26-25) with 4:48 to go before the intermission. Five quick points by Tyler Rodrigue and a pull-up jumper then flipped the script, guiding the Cavaliers out to a 34-30 edge. Despite the prolific offense, a late 5-0 spurt by CIU gave the Rams a 35-34 lead at the break.
 
The visitors made an efficient 50.0 percent of their looks from three (5-10 3-pt FG) compared to the Cavs' 36.4 percent (4-11 3-pt FG) and spread the ball around resulting in a 10-5 advantage in assists. Montreat (14-32 FG) held the slight shooting edge over CIU (12-28 FG) in addition to a 17-16 lead on the glass. Rodrigue and Jarden Maze each collected seven points to lead the team, while Maze and Djongo-Alan Tchatchouang both secured three rebounds.
 
Over the first 2:39 of the latter half, CIU built its edge out to six (42-36), but a 7-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer by Gabriel Rivera re-established the Cavalier advantage at 43-42. In a game of runs, the visitors answered with nine consecutive points in a span of 3:16 to take their largest lead to that point in the game (51-43).
 
Turnovers hampered the Montreat offense as the Cavs committed seven in eight minutes, allowing the Rams to extend their run and go up by double-digits (56-46) with 6:59 remaining on the clock. In the first and second halves, Columbia International translated 16 Cavalier turnovers into a 21-5 advantage in points off opponent miscues.
 
At a vital time in the competition, the Cavaliers immediately responded with an 11-0 stretch over 3:16 highlighted by six of Michael Erbeck's 12 points to grab a 57-56 edge. CIU (8-10, 7-7 AAC) answered in the back-and-forth portion of the game, holding three leads in the final 2:47 of regulation. A clutch layup by Jarden Maze with 33 seconds on the clock and a key defensive stop sent the game to an extra period.
 
A pair of 3-pointers gave Montreat a slight advantage in overtime as Rodrigue and Jamiel Wright drained deep shots; however, a 4-point possession kept CIU within striking distance (69-67) halfway into the five minutes. After the Rams made their three, Wright drilled another triple to build the lead to five and then hit two free throws to ice the matchup in favor of the Cavs. The Atlanta native scored eight of the Cavaliers' 17 points in the additional frame to end with a game-high 21.
 
Four Montreat players ended in double-figures in scoring as Maze (15), Rodrigue (12) and Erbeck (12) all scored at least 12 points. Wright and Elochukwu Eze each grabbed a team-best seven boards, while 11 different Cavaliers secured a rebound and the Cavs outrebounded the Rams 45-35. Mike Flenory and Wright both notched four assists and seven Cavaliers tallied at least one steal.
 
"It came down to rebounding the basketball," noted head coach Anthony Barringer. "At the half, we had five offensive rebounds and our goal for the night was 20 so we challenged our guys to go out and get us extra possessions."
 
Overall, Montreat made 44.6 percent of its looks (29-65 FG) to outshoot Columbia International (25-67 FG), who made 37.3 percent of its attempts. The Cavs made seven of their 11 tries from behind the arc in the second half and overtime to increase their 3-point percentage to 50.0 percent (11-22 3-pt FG). Meanwhile, the Rams drained just six of 17 3's over the same stretch to shoot 40.7 percent (11-27 3-pt FG) from three. A 6-for-6 showing at the charity stripe in overtime helped Montreat control the free throw battle as well as the Cavs hit 11 of 16 free throws (68.8 percent) to the visitors' 9-for-14 (64.3 percent) performance.
 
"Down the stretch our guys guarded at a high rate and executed offensively. It was a total team effort. I'm really proud of how we fought and stayed together," mentioned Barringer.
 
Men's basketball continues its homestand with a contest against Reinhardt on Wednesday. Tipoff in McAlister Gymnasium is slated for 7:30 p.m.