ASHEVILLE, N.C.— The Montreat men's basketball team returned home to Kimmel Arena Wednesday evening for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) battle against the St. Andrews University Knights. Dominating nearly every facet of the contest, the Cavaliers cruised to a 110-83 victory and climbed to 8-4 (3-3 AAC) on the year.
 
Eight quick points from AJ Baskerville and a triple from Jack Keller had Montreat on the front foot, 11-9, just 3:16 into the matchup. The duo added two additional 3-pointers, while Jarden Maze and Jeremyah McWilliams contributed buckets in the paint to maintain a 23-17 lead through six-plus minutes of play.
 
St. Andrews (1-6, 0-5 AAC) secured the lead at 29-28 with roughly eight minutes remaining in the opening half, but RJ Manginello connected on a layup and a look from deep to ensure the Cavs never trailed again. A Baskerville jam capped off an 11-2 Montreat run, and Maze's dunk closed out the first-half scoring as the hosts entered the break up 44-36.
 
Keller buried a shot from beyond the arc moments into the second half, putting the Cavaliers ahead by double-digits for the final 19:49. Lawrence Cole and Manginello hit triples, while Maze and Keller finished two-point baskets as the home side expanded its advantage to 59-42 in less than five minutes. Cole tacked on an and-one midway through the frame, handing Montreat its first 20-point lead of the night (76-56).
 
The Cavs led by as many as 32 points (103-71) in their rout of the Knights, and they achieved some impressive numbers along the way. In total, the hosts dished out 27 assists, their most in a single game since notching 35 in a win over Allen University on Jan. 11, 2020. Montreat also grabbed 67 rebounds during the triumph, its most in a contest since at least 2003. When the final buzzer sounded, the Cavaliers walked off the court with a 110-83 win.
 
"I thought we rebounded the ball the best we had all year and seeing that we had 27 assists was also great," said head coach Anthony Barringer. "The stat that doesn't show up though that excited me most was the seven kills we got. That's our goal every night, and tonight was the first time we achieved it all year."
 
Controlling the game in every facet, Montreat ended the night shooting 42-for-92 from the field (45.7 percent) and 18-of-41 from deep (43.9 percent). Meanwhile, SAU went 29-of-72 overall (40.3 percent) and 12-for-29 from beyond the arc (41.4 percent). Despite both teams committing 15 miscues, the Cavaliers owned a 26-12 edge in points off turnovers. The hosts also led the way in points in the paint (48-32), fast break points (26-18), bench points (41-16), rebounds (67-37) and assists (27-19).
 
Baskerville paced all players with his 27-point, 13-rebound double-double. Maze also stuffed the stat sheet, totaling 17 points, 12 boards and seven assists. Keller (19 points), Manginello (13 points) and Xavier Thornton (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring. Eleven different Cavs scored during the win.
 
"It's never a bad day when you score 110 points and win," Barringer added. "Our guys accepted the challenge and played with the necessary fire to break the game open in the second half. We put our focus on the defensive side of the ball and let that create our offense."
 
Montreat dives into exhibition play on Saturday when it heads to Tennessee for a clash versus NCAA Division I foe UT Martin. Tipoff between the Cavaliers and Skyhawks is set for 4 p.m. in Martin, Tenn.