ATHENS, Tenn.— Montreat's men's basketball team traveled to Athens, Tenn. to face an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent in the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs Saturday afternoon. Bouncing back from a loss at Bluefield University earlier this week, the Cavs cruised to their first victory at TWU in five years by a score of 79-67.
The first half was a defensive masterclass from both teams. Tied at 16 with half of the period already gone, Montreat finished the frame with a 10-2 scoring run. The Cavalier defense forced multiple shot-clock violations and swiped three steals in the half. At the break, the Cavaliers held a low scoring lead of 26-18.
Jarden Maze and
AJ Baskerville sparked the Montreat offense during the initial half with nine and seven points, respectively. The Cavs shot 10 percent better than the Bulldogs in the half, and both teams struggled from the line. Each team hit less than 50 percent from the stripe.
The second half blew the matchup wide open. Montreat started the frame on fire with a quick 7-0 run in the first 90 seconds thanks to baskets from Maze and Baskerville. A
Jack Keller triple added to the onslaught. The Cavs extended their run throughout the next five minutes, where that 7-0 spurt turned into a 21-7 stretch and a 49-25 lead in favor of the visitors.
The Bulldogs made a slight comeback throughout the half, but Montreat was able to stay in front by double digits the entire time once they scored the opening bucket of the half to lead by 10.
"Another bounce back win," said head coach
Anthony Barringer. "I would've loved to have won that one even bigger, but tip your cap to TWU. They refused to go away. I don't think we shot the ball well collectively, but for the first time all year, this team looked like a defensive juggernaut, and that is what we will continue to pour into."
Individually for the Cavaliers, Maze (27), Baskerville (16) and Keller (15) led with a trifecta of double-digit scoring marks. Maze scored 12 of his 27 from the stripe, upping the free throw effort for Montreat from 40 percent in the first to 75.9 percent (22-29 FT) in total.
Elijah Carson hauled in the most boards with eight, while
RJ Manginello dished out three assists.
Together, Montreat shot 45.6 percent from the field (26-57 FG) and hit 26.3 percent (5-19 3-pt FG) of its triples. The Cavs led the Bulldogs in both points off turnovers (12-11) and second chance points (15-11) in the competition. The Bulldogs managed to have more bench points (45-15), steals (9-6) and assists (14-9) compared to the Cavaliers.
Montreat will play one more away contest at Johnson University this Tuesday, Nov. 26 before returning to its home away from home in Kimmel Arena. The Cavs return home to face St. Andrews University on Dec. 4. The two matchups will be their final AAC contests of the calendar year.
