MONTGOMERY, Ala.— The Montreat College men's basketball team went on the road Friday afternoon to take on the Faulkner University Eagles in its final game before the holiday break. The Cavaliers fell to the Eagles by a final score of 81-67. As a result of the contest, the Cavs dropped to 8-6 overall, while Faulkner improved to 9-4 on the year.
Montreat opened the first half with a brief lead, as Aden Taylor hit a 3-pointer to put the squad up 7–6. The Cavaliers continued to keep the game close early, with Zeke Bullington hitting his own shot from deep to tie the game at 10-10. However, the Eagles responded immediately to pull ahead.
Faulkner then executed a scoring surge, bolstered by effective fast breaks and points off turnovers. The Cavs faced difficulty in trying to capture some momentum, despite efforts from players like Mike Wade and Caleb Moore, who contributed with points down low. The half concluded with hosts continuing to extend their lead, putting them up 44-26 heading into the intermission.
Montreat started the second half with a determined effort to close the scoring gap. Owen Stewart led the way, scoring the Cavaliers' first seven points in the half. Moore and Wade contributed as well with key baskets, while Taylor's shooting from beyond the arc added to the scoring drive. Despite this offensive effort, the Eagles never faltered, going on a 9-0 scoring spurt that handed the Cavs their largest deficit of the night, 64-42, midway through the second period.
In the face of this gap, Montreat didn't bow out but rather continued to fight. Both Bullington and Taylor hit two 3-pointers apiece to start the late offensive push for the Cavaliers, and as the shots from beyond the arc began to fall, so did the hosts' lead. Amare Elshoush decided to join the action, hitting a triple to slash Faulkner's lead to just 10 at 68-58. Despite the Cavs' impressive shooting display and outscoring the Eagles 41-37 in the second half, Montreat was unable to overcome the road deficit. The game ended with a final score of 81-67 in FU's favor.
"Faulkner set the tone for toughness, and we struggled to match it," said head coach Anthony Barringer. "They dominated us on the boards, and that was the difference in the game. We didn't do ourselves any favors with the number of turnovers we had either. We will learn from it and get better."
On the night, the Cavaliers shot 38.6 percent from the field (22-57 FG) and 30.8 percent from deep (8-26 3-pt FG). Defensively, Montreat held the Eagles to shooting 44.4 percent overall (28-63 FG) and 37.5 from three (9-24 3-pt FG). The hosts wrapped up the game holding advantages in rebounds (39-32), assists (11-7) and steals (12-8).
Taylor led the team in scoring, dropping 17 points. Stewart was next up with 13. He also contributed significantly on defense, grabbing five boards and having three takeaways. Moore scored eight points, going a perfect 4-4 from the field. Wade paced the squad in rebounds with six and added seven points to the scorecard.
Looking ahead, Montreat will resume Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play in a home matchup against Union Commonwealth University on Saturday, Jan. 3. The contest will take place at McAlister Gymnasium in Montreat, N.C., with tipoff set for 4 p.m.
