PIKEVILLE, Ky.— The Montreat College men's basketball team closed out its 2025-26 regular season on Saturday afternoon with an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest at the University of Pikeville. Behind a barrage of 18 3-pointers, the Bears sprinted past the Cavaliers to secure a 98-73 victory. With the loss, the Cavs fell to 15-12 (10-9 AAC) on the year, while No. 10 UPIKE improved to 25-3 (18-1 AAC).
 
Lawrence Cole did the heavy lifting early for the Montreat offense, pouring in his squad's initial five points to put the visitors in front, 5-3, just 2:10 into the matchup. Cole eventually scored 11 of the visitors' initial 20 points. However, despite several successful plays, including a 3-pointer by RJ Manginello and an assist by Owen Stewart, who dished out a career-high five helpers on the day, Montreat struggled to sustain the lead.
 
Pikeville capitalized on its lethal shooting from beyond the arc, eventually building an 18-point advantage thanks to a 12-0 run. The Bears drained nine of their initial 14 tries from deep to build their 38-20 edge with 5:31 remaining in the frame. Montreat tried to respond with contributions from Mike Wade and Aden Taylor, but UPIKE's offense proved challenging to contain. The half closed with Montreat trailing 51-35.
 
The Cavaliers initiated the second half with a Stewart-assisted Manginello triple. Despite the make, the Bears maintained their momentum, responding with consistent scoring in the paint and beyond the arc. Montreat managed to stay competitive through free throws and timely 3-pointers, notably from Taylor, who converted all of his free-throw attempts and added a triple five minutes in to cut the deficit back down to 16 points (62-46).
 
Throughout the half, the Cavs showcased resilience, with Caleb Moore contributing on both ends of the court with rebounds and assists. Manginello connected on looks from all levels of the floor as well. However, UPIKE reaffirmed its control of the matchup, extending its lead to 32 points with 8:27 remaining (84-52). The visitors continued to fight, with Manginello's late layup and Jakeem Bradford's free throws narrowing the gap slightly before the game concluded. In the end, Pikeville landed a 98-73 win on its senior day.
 
"This is not the way we wanted to go into the postseason, but tip your cap to Pikeville," said Head Coach Anthony Barringer. "They executed their game plan better than us, and it showed on the scoreboard. We will regroup and get ready for the postseason."
 
Montreat shot 41.4 percent from the field (24-58 FG), 37.0 percent from deep (10-27 3-pt FG) and 88.2 percent from the free-throw line (15-17 FT) on Saturday. Meanwhile, Pikeville delivered a scorching 56.1-percent clip overall (32-57 FG) and a 52.9-percent showing from beyond the arc (18-34 3-pt FG). The Bears also tallied more points off turnovers (20-9), assists (19-11) and steals (9-8). The Cavaliers grabbed more rebounds overall (36-31).
 
Manginello led the scoring for Montreat with 21 points, converting five 3-pointers. Wade contributed 14 points and added eight rebounds. Both Cole and Taylor registered 11 points, and the latter added three steals.
 
Looking ahead, Montreat now advances to the AAC Tournament, which is scheduled for Feb. 25-28 at the MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center in Kingsport, Tenn. Depending on results from around the conference on Sunday, the Cavaliers will either play as the No. 6 or No. 7 seed.