Montreat College experienced another tough week as they first ran into the Appalachian Athletic Conference's best player in an 80-63 loss to Bluefield College on January 27 and then, a few days later, into the AAC's best team as Tennessee Wesleyan downed Montreat 89-67 on February 1.Head Coach Jonathan Bennett knew that traveling to Bluefield, Virginia meant competing against the player Bennett dubbed the AAC's finest, 6'6" senior forward Omar Reed, and the rest of the Rams.  The home team raced to a commanding 15-point halftime lead, and the Cavaliers were unable to overcome that deficit as Reed, true to form, led Bluefield with 22 points and 14 rebounds.  

Vince Dombrowski, as he has often of late, led Montreat in scoring with 16 as Matt Rushing and Seth Moore had identical totals in points (10) and rebounds (6).  The Cavaliers fought hard in the second half but couldn't reduce the Rams' lead.

The loss dropped Montreat to a woeful 3-20 overall and 1-9 in the league as the Cavs closed the book on a January during which they collected only one win.  February did not promise a quick turn-around as Bennett's team headed to Athens, Tennessee to face a Tennessee-Wesleyan College unit which entered the contest with a middling 11-10 record but a sparkling 8-1 mark in the AAC.  

Indeed, the Bulldogs played like the team to beat in the conference, weathering Montreat's early energy which saw the visitors take a 26-18 lead after 12 minutes.  Bennett noted that Wesleyan "plays incredibly hard on both ends and transitions from one end to the other very quickly, and we had problems both defending and getting any kind of offensive rhythm" as the game wore on.  

Wesleyan broke Montreat down and outscored the Cavs 30-7 to close the first half.  They stretched a 15-point halftime lead to the final margin of 89-67 in a victory which boosted them to a 9-1 conference mark and a 2-game lead over Reinhardt College as teams jockey for seeding in the pending AAC tournament.

Matt Towry led a balanced Bulldog attack as he scored 15.  Montreat's Dustin Harris battled fiercely, totaling 10 points and hustling for a game-high 15 rebounds.  Dombrowski scored 17 to lead the Cavaliers in scoring once more.

Montreat starts a three-game home stand on Wednesday, February 3 by welcoming UVa-Wise to McAlister Gymnasium.  Tip-off is at 7:30 for this AAC clash.