BARBOURVILLE, Ky.— In its first competition of the 2024 calendar year, the Montreat men's basketball team traveled to Kentucky for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) duel with the Union College Bulldogs. Though the teams were tied at the intermission, a big second half from the home team guaranteed a 20-point loss for the Cavaliers. With the 97-77 defeat, Montreat fell to 5-8 overall and 3-7 in AAC action.
 
During a torrid start to the contest, Jack Keller connected on a pair of triples; however, three 3-pointers from the Bulldogs aided the home side out to a 12-9 advantage through five minutes. Union expanded its edge to five (16-11), but the Cavaliers utilized contributions from six different players to fuel an 18-0 run and lead 29-16 midway through the frame.
 
Despite the double-digit lead by the visitors, UC chipped away at its deficit, using a 13-2 stretch to capture a 39-38 edge and flip momentum back in its favor. The Cavaliers were undeterred and went into halftime knotted with the Bulldogs at 43 thanks to a late 3-pointer from Michael Erbeck.
 
Efficient shooting allowed the Cavs to score in bunches as Montreat hit 51.5 percent of its first-half looks (17-33 FG) and 50.0 percent of its 3-point tries (6-12 3-pt FG). Meanwhile, Union rebounded after a rough start due to transition buckets toward the end of the period to shoot 42.1 percent (16-38 FG), including 33.3 percent from deep (5-15 3-pt FG). Keller led the Cavaliers with 13 points and three makes from behind the arc, while Gabriel Rivera added nine points.
 
After Montreat took a 46-45 advantage early in the second period, the Bulldogs responded with 11 consecutive points over 2:31 of game time to build a double-digit lead of their own (56-46). Though a back-and-forth portion of the frame resulted in a 15-point spread, Collin Mills and Erbeck trimmed the gap down to 10 with 10 minutes to play.
 
As the half wore on, Union (10-5, 9-2 AAC) seemed to get to the rim at will, grabbing offensive rebounds and converting opportunities to balloon its lead to as many as 22 points and seal the contest in its favor.
 
Overall, the Bulldogs outscored the Cavaliers 54-34 in the second half to take the competition. Union converted on 37 of its 75 shots (49.3 percent) compared to Montreat's 30-for-67 shooting performance (44.8 percent). On one less attempt, the Cavs made as many 3-pointers (11). Four Cavaliers ended in double figures in scoring led by Rivera with 17. Keller concluded with 16 points, while Erbeck finished with 14 and Mills scored 10. Erbeck and Tyler Murray each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.
 
The Montreat men's basketball team stays in Kentucky for its next matchup, a battle with University of Pikeville on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.