CLEVELAND, Ga.— The Montreat men's basketball team traveled to Georgia for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest versus the Truett McConnell University Bears Saturday afternoon. The Bears made shots early and often and carried that momentum over the entirety of the matchup to down the Cavaliers 77-59, moving Montreat to a 4-4 record overall and a 3-3 record in the AAC.
Michael Erbeck drilled an early 3-pointer; however, the Bears connected on five of their first seven shots from deep, including four straight during a 12-0 run to lead 17-5 moments into the game. Though Truett McConnell (5-5, 4-4 AAC) cooled from beyond the arc, the Cavaliers made just two of their next 13 shots and committed three turnovers as the home side held a 19-10 advantage midway through the opening half.
The teams traded points back and forth in the ensuing minutes resulting in five Cavs recording exactly one basket before
Dyllan Barnwell picked up an offensive rebound and finished for his second bucket of the afternoon. After TMU grabbed its largest edge of the first frame (27-14),
Tyler Murray and Erbeck drained triples to trim the spread to seven. Despite the quick spurt with six minutes left in the period, the Bears expanded the gap back out to 13 thanks to efficiency on three straight possessions. Ultimately, the home side led 35-24 at the break.
Due to the hot start and smart shot selection, Truett McConnell tallied a 42.4 field goal percentage (14-33 FG) in the first 20 minutes compared to Montreat's 30.3 percent (10-33 FG). The Bears also outshot the Cavaliers from three by making seven of 19 attempts (36.8 percent) to the visitors' 25.0 percent clip (3-12 3-pt FG). Six different Cavs scored in the initial half, captained by Erbeck with six points.
Chris Moore grabbed a half-best five rebounds.
Montreat's defense forced a pair of turnovers early in the second half that contributed to a free throw by Moore and a 3-pointer from
Collin Mills which trimmed the deficit to seven just 2:05 into the latter frame. Over the next four minutes, Truett McConnell went on a run that essentially put the contest away. From the 35-28 scoreline, the Bears poured in 18 of the ensuing 20 points to lead 53-30 with 14:02 remaining. TMU pushed its edge out to 27 (66-39) before utilizing chances at the charity stripe to go up 70-42 with 6:55 left.
The gap between the two sides floated from 27 down to 22 for most of the rest of the matchup prior to points from
Dallas Culbreath and
Jayden Harper in the final minute that whittled the deficit down to 18 at the buzzer.
TMU shot 43.3 percent overall (26-60 FG) and 34.5 percent (10-29 3-pt FG) from three, while the Cavaliers made 38.1 percent (24) of their 63 tries, including a 5-for-18 effort (27.8 percent) from behind the arc. The Bears forced 14 turnovers, 11 steals, and translated those into 17 points.
Mills led the way for the Cavs with 12 points, and Barnwell contributed a career-high 11 points (5-6 FG) with five rebounds as 11 different Montreat athletes scored. Moore snatched down a team-best six rebounds in the defeat.
Men's basketball remains on the road for its next competition, a matchup at Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn. on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
