LAURINBURG, N.C.— The Montreat men's basketball team routed the St. Andrews University Knights in its final road Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup of the year, outscoring the Knights 84-66 en route to an important conference triumph Tuesday night. With the win, the Cavaliers improved to 16-10 (14-9 AAC) on the season.
 
A slow start for Montreat saw the Cavs hit just one of their opening seven shots from the field, while SAU connected on a pair of triples to lead 6-2. From that point on, the Cavaliers utilized the 3-point shot to turn the tide.
 
Back-to-back makes from deep by Darius Bryant followed by a 3-pointer from Jarden Maze and another off the hand of Bryant powered Montreat to 10 consecutive points, flipping the script to lead by double-digits moments after it trailed. Tyler Rodrigue then drained a shot from beyond the arc as the Cavaliers swished six of their first 10 looks from behind the 3-point line to go up 21-8 eight minutes into the game.
 
Though SAU (4-22, 2-21 AAC) whittled the gap down to as few as seven in the ensuing minutes of action, a chaotic series of sequences involving forced turnovers and back-to-back 3-pointers from Michael Erbeck propelled the Cavaliers out to a 14-point lead with 1:38 remaining in the half. The Cavs capitalized on St. Andrews' mistakes, converting 13 first-half turnovers into 22 of their 44 points en route to a 12-point edge (44-32) with 20 minutes left in the contest.
 
Six different Montreat players scored at least five points in the first period led by Erbeck's 11 points. Erbeck also grabbed a team-high four boards during the span.
 
In the second frame, the home side came out firing to trim its deficit down to eight points (48-40) just two minutes into the half. Erbeck and Maze then each secured baskets followed by Bryant's fourth and final 3-pointer that immediately put the Cavaliers ahead by 16 (59-43), their largest lead to that point.
 
Rodrigue and Gabriel Rivera connected from deep, and the visitors held SAU without makes for long stretches in the second half, resulting in a 20-point advantage with only seven and a half minutes on the clock.
 
Four different Cavs drained shots down the stretch as Erbeck granted the team is largest edge of the night (26) thanks to the last of his team-high 20 points, while Emmanuel Hughes poured in the final five Cavalier points in the 18-point triumph. Erbeck's 20 points tied his career-high mark. The trio of Rodrigue (12), Maze (12) and Bryant (12) all ended in double figures in scoring with the freshman, who also led the squad with nine rebounds.
 
The Cavs and the Knights both hit 41.8 percent of their shots, but the home side excelled thanks to 24 more shot attempts (79-55). Montreat drained 14 3s, its third-most this season, on 33 tries (42.4 percent) to SAU's 40.0 percent (8-20 3-pt FG) mark. The Cavaliers made the difference in points off turnovers (30-14), offensive rebounds (18-9) and second-chance points (20-9).

"Great bounce-back win tonight," mentioned head coach Anthony Barringer. "After the letdown against Tennessee Wesleyan, our staff challenged our guys' competitive spirit and they answered the call. We were able to jump on them early and maintain a sizable lead. Going on the road and winning is hard so to come out with a win like we had tonight was big for us."
 
Men's basketball returns home for its final regular-season competition of the year, a matchup with Bluefield University on Saturday. Tipoff for senior day inside McAlister Gymnasium is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.