LAURINBURG, N.C.— The Montreat College men's basketball team wraps up its Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season with away contests against the St. Andrews University Knights and the Kentucky Christian University Knights. The Cavaliers traveled to SAU on Wednesday and won in overtime, 103-97.
The Cavaliers (17-10, 11-8 AAC) jumped on top rapidly, starting the game on a 12-3 run.
Jarden Maze kickstarted the stretch with a 3-pointer. An
RJ Manginello layup followed by two
AJ Baskerville baskets continued the momentum. After the slow opening, the Knights (3-19, 2-17 AAC) came back and took the lead, holding it for most of the half. Montreat stole the advantage when Maze finished a layup to lead 30-28 over SAU with 3:35 to play in the first. Manginello scored the final four points for the Cavs, giving them a 38-36 lead at the break. After the initial half, Baskerville led the Cavaliers with 12 points and eight rebounds, well on his way to another double-double.
Maze continued his dominance throughout the second half, tallying 19 points without making a single 3-pointer. He started the Montreat scoring in the half with two free throws. Maze shot 9-for-13 from the line in the half alone. After starting the frame on top, the Cavs trailed for the final 10 minutes of the half, slowly cutting back into an SAU lead. With 48 seconds to play, Maze tied the game with a layup that eventually sent the game to an extra five-minute period.
In overtime, a fast 10-2 run in favor of the visitors proved to be the difference in the end. The Cavs totaled 17 points in the period, and Maze scored nine.
Jack Keller helped shut the door on the hosts with a 3-pointer and two free throws to conclude the game. After the extra basketball, Montreat won with a final score of 103-97.
"Culture wins," said head coach
Anthony Barringer. "St. Andrews is always a tough place to go get a win. Add in it being senior night, and you get a recipe for an upset. Our guys refused to quit, and once we got to overtime, we were confident the game was ours. I thought we got out to a great start, but they went on a run, and it was a fight the rest of the way. This time of the year, they don't ask how you win, they ask did you win. And yes, we did."
For the Cavs, Maze scored his collegiate career-high with 37 points in the contest. Keller scored 24 in the game, and he also tallied six boards and three steals. Baskerville also shined with a 21-point, 18-rebound double-double, his 13th of the season. Manginello led all Cavaliers with four assists, and he also scored 15 points.
As a whole, the Cavs shot 35-for-71 from the floor, one shot under 50 percent. Montreat launched 24 attempts from downtown and made just four of them. The 16.7 percent mark was the lowest in past 16 games, but it was enough to get the job done. From the stripe, the Cavaliers shot 29-for-44. Montreat had more second-chance points (16-11) and points from turnovers (23-10) than the Knights in the matchup. The Cavs forced 19 turnovers from St. Andrews and only gave up eight of their own.
With the triumph, the Cavaliers are just one win away from clinching a first-round bye and a berth into the quarterfinal round of the AAC Tournament. To conclude their regular season campaign, the Cavs travel to Grayson, Ky. to face more Knights in the AAC. The KCU Knights host the Cavs on Saturday, Feb. 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
