ASHEVILLE, N.C.— Playing its final game inside Kimmel Arena, the Montreat men's basketball team began a three-game homestand Saturday afternoon with an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup against the Bryan College Lions. Behind a relentless effort, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, the Cavaliers rolled to a 90-73 victory. With the win, Montreat improved to 15-9 (9-7 AAC) on the year and 7-1 inside Kimmel Arena.
 
The hosts started with a quick 5-0 lead just 42 seconds into the ballgame as RJ Manginello drained a look from deep and AJ Baskerville scooped in a fast break layup.
 
Bryan (14-8, 12-5 AAC) started hot from the field, connecting on seven of its initial nine looks overall (77.8 percent), but the Cavs' consistent defensive pressure caused a plethora of turnovers. The Lions coughed up the basketball 11 times in the first half and 13 times in the second half. Those miscues eventually led to 36 Montreat points.
 
A 21-16 visitors' lead quickly shifted to a 40-33 Cavalier advantage as the hosts gained extra possessions via their defense. Zeke Bullington and Jarden Maze drilled 3-pointers to create the seven-point edge with just 3:09 left in the opening half. Montreat ultimately possessed a 42-40 lead after 20 minutes of action.
 
Eight of the Cavs' first 10 points in the second half came from the free-throw line. As Montreat continued to apply pressure on both ends of the floor, the Lions began to buckle.
 
The matchup flipped for good during an 18-3 Cavalier run. Across a 6:09 span, the hosts' flurry of activity resulted in an avalanche that snowballed the Montreat lead from 61-54 to 79-57. Jack Keller, Baskerville, Manginello and Maze combined for all 18 points in that stretch.
 
Leading by as many as 23 points in the second half, the Cavs eventually came away with an important 90-73 triumph in conference play.
 
"Forty minutes of chaos," said head coach Anthony Barringer. "It was good to get back in the win column. I felt like we got back on track against CIU, although the result didn't go in our favor. We wanted to start fast, and we did. I was pleased with our relentless approach to get stops and convert on the offensive end. That was fun. That was Montreat Basketball."
 
Points off turnovers (36-23), points in the paint (42-30) and second chance points (14-6) swung the matchup in Montreat's favor. Bryan finished the night with the better shooting percentages, going 22-for-46 overall (47.8 percent) and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc (6-17 3-pt FG); however, the Cavaliers attempted significantly more shots thanks in large part to those 24 BC turnovers and 11 additional rebounds (44-33). The hosts shot 41.0 percent overall (32-78 FG), 26.7 percent from deep (8-30 3-pt FG) and 78.3 percent at the stripe (18-23 FT).
 
In addition to his eight boards, Maze tied for a game-high with 23 points. Baskerville led all players with 12 rebounds, and he poured in 11 points to complete his double-double. Manginello (17 points) and Keller (16 points) also reached double figures in scoring. Bullington and Baskerville each recorded three assists.
 
Montreat makes its return to McAlister Gymnasium on Wednesday for a league battle versus the Johnson University Royals. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Montreat, N.C.