BLUEFIELD, Va.— The Montreat men's basketball team hit the road for Bluefield, Va. Tuesday night as the Cavaliers squared off against the Bluefield University Rams in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play. While the visitors held the lead early and at the halftime break, they couldn't overcome a strong second half from the Rams, falling by an 87-74 scoreline and dropping to 12-11 (9-10 AAC) in the process.
 
A pair of substantial runs set the table for a competitive first half between the two sides. Jack Keller drove to the rim for an easy basket and set up a dunk for Elochukwu Eze on the Cavs' initial two possessions of the ballgame. Gabriel Rivera, RJ Manginello and Michael Erbeck then followed Keller with three consecutive triples, capping off a 13-2 run that saw the visitors seize a 13-4 lead merely 3:52 into the matchup.
 
Bluefield (7-17, 7-13 AAC) came charging back to take a 2-point lead (15-13) thanks to an 11-0 run over the ensuing 2:43. From there, the two teams battled back and forth to the tune of four ties and seven lead changes.
 
For nearly nine full minutes, neither squad could build more than a one-possession advantage. Collin Mills and Jamiel Wright ended that stretch on the final lead change of the half. Mills buried a 3-pointer to reclaim the edge at 32-30 with 3:57 remaining in the frame. Wright then expanded the lead to four points on two occasions, while Keller and Rivera pushed the advantage up to eight points (42-34) with 1:09 left.
 
Ultimately, back-to-back buckets in the final minute aided the Rams in pulling within four (42-38) entering halftime. Each team shot above 50.0 percent from the field, with the hosts holding the slight edge overall (54.8-53.3) and the visiting Cavaliers finding better luck from deep (50.0-30.0). Keller tied for a half-high with 10 points, and Eze hauled down a frame-best six rebounds. Nine different Cavs poured in a basket through 20 minutes of play.
 
Riding momentum from its quick buckets late in the first, BU's offense took over the matchup during the second half. The Rams scored on 15 of their initial 20 possessions during the latter frame, flipping the script and the scoreboard in their favor. Behind the high-scoring clip, Bluefield snagged the largest lead for either side to that point, vaulting ahead of the Cavs by 13 (71-58) with 8:43 to go.
 
Rivera tallied a putback basket with 7:01 remaining that ended Montreat's 5-minute field goal drought. Erbeck and Keller then drilled shots from beyond the arc to pull within single digits at 76-68; however, the Cavaliers couldn't slow down the BU offensive attack enough. A combination of free throws and jumpers saw the hosts maintain distance between themselves and the visitors down the stretch, and Bluefield collected an 87-74 victory as a result.
 
Shooting 64.3 percent in the second half helped BU finish the night with its best overall shooting performance of the season (35-59 FG; 59.3 percent). The Rams also hit seven of their 19 3-point tries (36.8 percent), while the Cavs went 28-for-63 (44.4 percent) overall and 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) from deep. Montreat held the rebounding edge in the matchup (34-29), but Bluefield found the advantage when it came to points in the paint (40-26).
 
Keller led the visitors with 13 points, while Rivera (12), Mills (11) and Wright (10) also managed double-digit point totals. Tyler Murray tied for a game-high with seven boards, and four different Cavaliers accrued a pair of assists.
 
Hosting a Saturday home game for the fifth time in the past six weeks, the Montreat men's basketball team welcomes Bryan College to town for its next competition. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. inside McAlister Gymnasium.