LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The Montreat College men's basketball team lost a 108-65 final against No. 18 Georgia Gwinnett College on Tuesday evening. Playing in Lawrenceville, Ga., the Cavaliers couldn't overcome the Grizzlies' fast start and 56.2 percent shooting performance. With the result, the Cavs moved to 1-2 on the season, while GGC improved to 4-0 overall.
Christian Sanders and
Owen Stewart attempted to answer the hosts' swift scoring spree, as Georgia Gwinnett made six of its initial seven shot attempts, including its first five 3-pointers. Sanders buried a pair of triples, while Stewart drained a jumper to pull Montreat within 17-8 less than four minutes into the opening half.
After a 10-0 run from the home squad,
Amare Elshoush turned in a four-point play, and Stewart connected twice from the free-throw line, bringing the scoreline to 27-14 midway through the frame.
RJ Manginello also converted a pair of free throws, while Stewart and Elshoush knocked down jump shots.
Jace Ramirez assisted an Elshoush make from deep late in the half, but the Grizzlies put an exclamation point on the period with a dunk just before the buzzer. GGC shot 60.0 percent during the initial 20 minutes of action, including 10-for-16 from beyond the arc. Ultimately, the hosts entered the break with a 62-23 lead.
Continuing to flex its national status, 18
th-ranked Georgia Gwinnett expanded its edge to 79-29 less than six minutes into the second half.
Ricardo Gomez, Manginello, Elshoush and
Jacobi Simpson cashed looks from 3-point range as the Cavaliers found success along the perimeter. Those makes from deep opened up opportunities in the paint. Stewart,
Dyllan Barnwell,
Jakeem Bradford and
Alex Johnson generated scoring inside, with Montreat notching 18 points in the paint during the frame. Improved ball movement also saw the visitors tally 11 assists in the half.
Despite their efforts, the Cavs couldn't stop GGC's home cooking. The Grizzlies continued to score in the paint and at the charity stripe, never leading by fewer than 38 points across the final 20 minutes.
Lucas Silveira de Campos Mouawad notched his first career bucket for the final basket of the evening, and the hosts wrapped up their 108-65 win.
"Georgia Gwinnett played harder than us," said Head Coach
Anthony Barringer. "They beat us in every facet. Everybody in our organization has to be better. Plain and simple."
On the night, Montreat shot 36.9 percent overall (24-65 FG), 29.0 percent from behind the arc (9-31 3-pt FG) and 61.5 percent at the line (8-13 FT). Georgia Gwinnett concluded the game at 56.2 percent from the field (41-73 FG), 50.0 percent from deep (13-26 3-pt FG) and 54.2 percent from the stripe (13-24 FT). Additionally, the Grizzlies held advantages in rebounds (44-38), assists (25-15), turnovers (18-6), points in the paint (56-20), fastbreak points (33-6) and points off turnovers (23-4).
Elshoush scored a team-high 12 points, hit three 3-pointers and added four rebounds. Manginello finished with nine points and a team-high five assists. Bradford posted nine points on 4-of-4 shooting and collected four boards. Simpson registered three assists and two steals while adding five points.
Up next, the Montreat College men's basketball team visits Winston-Salem, N.C., on Saturday, Nov. 7, for a nonconference matchup at Carolina University. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m.
