KINGSPORT, Tenn.— In its sixth consecutive trip to the semifinal round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament, the Montreat men's basketball team couldn't quite overcome a hot shooting No. 7 seed as the Cavaliers dropped a 77-67 matchup to the Columbia International University Rams in Kingsport, Tenn. Friday night. With the defeat, the Cavs concluded their season with an 18-11 record.
 
CIU (17-13) began the contest on fire from deep as the Rams immediately jumped out to a 9-0 advantage thanks to a trio of triples. Michael Erbeck then got the Cavaliers on the board to end an 0-6 stretch before Mike Flenory connected on Montreat's first 3-pointer to make it 9-5 four minutes into the competition.
 
The teams struggled from the field in the ensuing moments; however, Columbia International eventually scored 11 of the next 13 points to build a 13-point edge (20-7) midway through the opening half.
 
CamRon Sias tallied a 3-point play and Jarden Maze knocked down a pair of longballs to trim the deficit to just six points with a 9-2 run over only 1:26 of game time, but the Rams had another answer. CIU expanded its lead back out to double digits as the underdogs hovered around 50.0 percent shooting in the first period. Though the Rams extended their advantage to as many as 14 points due to a 6-for-12 3-point performance in the initial 20 minutes and a 14-for-28 showing overall, the Cavaliers kept within 10 (38-28) at the break after buckets from Elochukwu Eze, Gabriel Rivera and Erbeck in the closing stretch.
 
Maze led the Cavs, who shot 37.9 percent (11-29 FG) in the first, with eight points. Sias contributed seven points, while Eze captained all players with eight rebounds to go with his team-high two assists. Montreat trailed CIU in shooting from the field and from deep as the Cavaliers drained just three of 12 looks from three (25.0 percent). The Rams also held edges in points off turnovers (7-2) and assists (10-4) to contribute to the double-digit gap with 20 minutes left.
 
Maze tallied seven quick points out of the gate in the second half to promptly cut the Cavs' deficit to six (41-35), but a field goal drought by the No. 3 seed helped CIU recover. Montreat failed to hit a shot for three minutes as the Rams ballooned their lead out to 15 with nine consecutive points.
 
Erbeck and Maze worked to cut the gap significantly in the ensuing minutes, combining for the team's next 15 points as the Cavaliers pulled within six (55-49) with 11:00 to go in regulation. Despite the hope, another tough stretch from the field over six minutes coupled with CIU offensive rebounds and an inability to get necessary stops on defense allowed Columbia International to extend its advantage to 17 (70-53), its largest lead of the ballgame, with five minutes left thanks to a 15-4 run.
 
The Cavs did respond by holding the Rams without a basket for the final 5:03 of the contest; however, Montreat only got as close as seven points as CIU led wire-to-wire in its double-digit win.
 
Maze, who poured in 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second frame, went 9-for-14 from the field and 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Erbeck, who notched 12 of his 16 points in the second period, joined Maze in double figures in scoring. The duo combined for 30 of the Cavaliers' 39 second-half points and 42 of the team's 67 points on the night. Eze captained all players with 12 rebounds.
 
Montreat shot 50.0 percent (13-26 FG) in the latter frame to resurrect its field goal percentage to 43.6 percent (24-55 FG); however, CIU kept its torrid offensive pace, knocking down 47.5 percent of its overall looks (28-59 FG), including a 35.7-percent effort from three (10-28 3-pt FG). The Cavs were nearly as efficient as their counterparts from beyond the arc, hitting seven of 20 attempts (35.0 percent), but the team left 10 free throws on the table (12-22 FT), while the Rams made 11 of 14 (78.6 percent) and won the rebounding battle, 37-32. Montreat only committed one more turnover (11-10) but trailed in points off turnovers, 17-6.

"What a ride! I'm really proud of these guys," noted head coach Anthony Barringer. "Obviously not the outcome we wanted, but I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to coach these young men this year. Tip your cap to CIU, they jumped out on us early and we were never able to get over the hump. We fought until the end, the ball just didn't bounce our way tonight," Barringer finished.
 
Men's basketball now looks to improve further as the team heads into the offseason with hopes of advancing deeper in the postseason in its 2023-24 campaign and besting its 18-11 record.