MONTREAT, N.C.— In its final contest before a short Thanksgiving break, the Montreat men's basketball team utilized efficient offense to defeat the St. Andrews University Knights by a score of 91-82 inside McAlister Gymnasium Tuesday night. With the high-scoring victory, the Cavs improved to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action.
 
After St. Andrews got on the board first, eight straight points from the Cavaliers gave the hosts an 8-3 advantage just 2:56 into the matchup. Jack Keller poured in eight of the team's initial 10 points, including making both of his 3-point looks.
 
From there offense prevailed as Montreat hit consecutive field goals to build a large lead. An and-one from Gabriel Rivera followed by a 3-pointer off the hand of Jayden Harper and one of Rivera's two first-half triples fueled a run that saw the Cavs go up 19-10 midway through the frame.
 
Though SAU (3-5, 1-5 AAC) trimmed its deficit to four (27-23) with 7:32 remaining in the opening period, the Cavaliers responded in a big way. Back-to-back 3-point makes by Michael Erbeck began an 11-3 stretch that was capped off by five points from Rivera, handing the home side its largest edge of the first half at 38-26 with 4:55 until the break.
 
Despite the opposition, the Knights concluded the frame with a 12-3 spurt that brought the visitors within three (41-38) at the intermission. Rivera led all players with 13 points thanks to his perfect 5-for-5 effort over the initial 20 minutes, while Keller added 10 points. Erbeck contributed six points and a first-half high six rebounds. Although the Cavs held a 24-10 rebounding advantage at one point in the opening period and finished the half leading 27-16 on the boards, a 17-5 points off turnovers edge in favor of SAU kept the contest close.
 
A tight second half featured a plethora of ties and lead changes as the Knights pushed Montreat to its brink defensively. The Cavaliers went up by six points on the first possession of the latter frame, but the Knights chipped away at the gap until tying the game at 48 just 2:21 into the second half.
 
St. Andrews then knotted the score again before taking its first lead since 3-0 with a basket to lead 53-51 with 16:37 left in regulation. A period that consisted of eight ties and seven lead changes resulted in a 2-possession competition for much of the second frame. The teams were within four points over a stretch of 12:28 before the Cavs took the lead for good.
 
Down 70-68 with 9:27 on the clock, points from Keller, Rivera and Jamiel Wright fueled a 10-0 run over 3:55 that pulled Montreat ahead by eight. The Knights immediately cut their deficit down to five; however, the Cavaliers answered each ensuing bucket with a make of their own to lead by as many as nine as time waned.
 
Both squads shot extremely efficiently on the night as Montreat used a 50.0 percent (18-36 FG) second half to end at 46.6 percent (34-73 FG). The Cavs also connected on 32.3 percent of their 3-point tries (10-31 3-pt FG) and 13 of their 17 free throws (76.5 percent). On the other side, SAU connected on 40.6 percent from the field (28-69 FG), 11 of 29 3s (37.9 percent) and 15 of 23 free throws (65.2 percent). Montreat grabbed 50 rebounds to SAU's mere 31.
 
"Our gameplan was to make them shoot jump shots. We told the team going in that St. Andrews would have to make 20 threes to win and we stuck to the gameplan for the most part," noted head coach Anthony Barringer. "When you outrebound teams and share the ball the way we did tonight you typically get the outcome that you want. I felt like our guys stayed together down the stretch and executed at a high level to seal the victory."
 
Five Cavaliers ended in double figures led by Keller, who collected a team-best and season-high 21 points. Rivera also notched a 20-point contest with exactly 20, a career-best for him. Erbeck tallied his second double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Wright scored all 12 of his points in the second half. CamRon Sias added a season-high 10 points and eight boards as every Montreat player who saw action snatched at least one rebound.
 
Men's basketball returns to play next Wednesday, Nov. 29, against the Reinhardt University Eagles. Tipoff in Montreat, N.C. is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.