KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— The Montreat College Cavaliers crossed state borders to face the Johnson University Royals in another Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) showdown Tuesday evening. The Cavs put on a show on the hardwood to stun the Royals (6-1, 4-1 AAC) by a score of 76-67.
 
Montreat (4-3, 3-2 AAC) got out to a quick start scoring 14 of its 18 first-quarter points from inside the paint. With under two minutes to go in the initial frame, the Cavaliers jumped out to an 11-point lead (16-5) thanks to a Virginia Edmondson layup. The Cavs continued to turn up the heat in the first half. At the break, Montreat held firmly to a massive 43-26 lead.
 
The home team took advantage of the intermission. The Royals answered back in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs by 10 in the frame (25-15); however, Montreat was able to escape by going on an 8-2 run themselves to end the quarter.
 
The Royals were on fire from downtown, drilling 11 3-pointers on the night, a remarkable feat in any game. But the fast-paced Cavalier offense got the better of the home team as Montreat stayed ahead at the end to hand Johnson its first loss of the 2024-25 season.

"Super proud of our group tonight," said head coach Jamie Moore. "This was a big team win for us with everyone contributing. Johnson really didn't have an answer for our speed. We knew they would get hot from behind the arc at some point, but we responded and punched back."
 
The Cavs had four players with double-digit point totals during the onslaught. Rymiah Sanders led the way with 20, followed closely by Edmondson and Karis Alexander with 16 and 15, respectively. The other Montreat player in double figures was Vaniah Petty with 12 points. Three Cavaliers corralled eight rebounds in the contest: Edmondson, Sanders and Katie Alexander. Katie Alexander also led the way in the assist category, tying a career high with 11.
 
As a team, the Cavaliers shot lights out, hitting 50.0 percent (35-70 FG) of their shots. The visitors only scored two 3-pointers (2-12 3-ot FG), both of which were nailed by Sanders. The Cavaliers secured 58 points in the paint in the contest. They also led the way with more fast break points (18-8), second chance points (13-7), blocks (3-2), steals (13-12) and assists (19-17).
 
The Cavs will appear next in Kingsport, Tenn. at The Show. Montreat will play Brescia University on Friday at 4:15 p.m. and Shawnee State University on Saturday at 8:45 p.m.