ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.— The Montreat men's basketball team resumed its season-opening road trip Tuesday night with a nonconference game versus the Mid-Atlantic Christian University Mustangs in Elizabeth City, N.C. While the score remained even at halftime, a strong showing during the second period saw the Cavaliers pull away and improve to 2-0 on the young season via a 79-70 road victory.
AJ Baskerville kicked off his big night with an and-one moments into the ballgame; however, it was a 10-2 run featuring eight points from
Jarden Maze that created the contest's first real separation with the visitors up, 15-9.
Mid-Atlantic Christian (0-1) stormed back thanks to a 12-3 spurt, seizing the upper hand at 20-19 near the midpoint of the first half. The Mustangs' advantage didn't last long, though.
Xavier Thornton and
RJ Manginello buried 3-pointers, and
Elijah Carson tacked on a layup to cap off a 10-1 run that reestablished Montreat's edge, 29-21.
The hosts controlled one final stretch prior to the intermission, utilizing an 11-0 sequence to ensure the two sides entered the break level at 38.
While the matchup was still even early in the second half, it was solid defense and a final surge that put the Cavs in front for good.
Zeke Bullington and Maze drained looks from beyond the arc, and the grouping of
Chris Moore, Baskerville, Manginello and Maze added buckets in and around the paint to rapidly balloon Montreat's lead out to 69-56.
MACU couldn't eliminate its deficit against the Cavaliers' defense. The Mustangs capitalized on a few late turnovers to pull within 74-70 in the waning moments, but that proved to be as close as the hosts could get. Maze hit a pair of free throws and a triple to seal the deal in Montreat's favor, 79-70.
"We needed a game like that," said head coach
Anthony Barringer. "Tip your cap to MACU. They're a really scrappy group of dudes. Games like this are the games that small college basketball teams live for. As a guy that played in the USCAA, I remember playing the NAIA teams. Those games mean a little more. I told our guys what it was going to be before we walked in the door. They answered the call. It was good to see them respond to the challenges of the night and for use to come out with a win."
The Cavs held the advantage offensively on Tuesday, making 45.3 percent (29-64 FG) of their shots overall and 40.0 percent (10-25 3-pt FG) of their looks from deep. On the flip side, Mid-Atlantic Christian converted on just 23 of its 68 tries from the field (33.8 percent) and four of its 18 attempts (22.2 percent) from 3-point range. Along with the shooting edge, Montreat also manufactured more success with bench points (23-9) and assists (17-6).
For the second consecutive game, a Cavalier scored at least 30 points. This time it was Maze who poured in 30. A native of Sandersville, Ga., Maze also paced all athletes with four steals. Baskerville (12 points) and Manginello (11 points) scored in double figures as well. In total, nine different Montreat players registered a made basket during the win. Manginello led the matchup with six assists, and Baskerville notched a game-high 20 rebounds for his first career double-double in just his second contest as a Cav.
Montreat remains on the road this Friday when it heads to Greenville, S.C. to take on the Bob Jones University Bruins. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
