Montreat's men's basketball team stumbled to a 3-26 regular season finish, good for last place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference and the underdog role in the tournament's play-in game pitting the 8th and 9th seeds against each other for the right to play in the 8-team bracket to decide the conference champion.

And even facing 8th-seeded Virginia Intermont on Monday, February 22 seemed a formidable task, as the Cobras has defeated Montreat twice this year, including a 13-point win over the Cavaliers in McAlister Gymnasium on the final day of the regular season.

But in a fast-paced offensive display, the Cavaliers started their second season with a 97-95 overtime victory over Virginia Intermont that sends them into the AAC Tournament quarterfinals, where they will face Bluefield College.

Head Coach Jonathan Bennett had sensed his youthful team playing better and hoped for a small shift in his team's fortunes: "Our team has been the victim of last second shots and tough losses throughout the year and it was great for our guys to win a game and make big shots in big situations."

Making the biggest of those big shots was junior forward Matt Rushing from Mount Holly, NC.  With two seconds remaining in regulation, Rushing drilled a long 3-point field goal to force the overtime.  Rushing's heroics were indicative of the great game he played throughout the evening as he posted 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.  

Vince Dombrowski, with 19 points, Christian Tonkins, with 16 points and 6 boards, and Dustin Harris, with 15 points and 9 rebounds, also played valiantly and helped offset the dual threat posed by the Cobras' Marquette Knight and Wade Bryant, who each scored 23.

On Wednesday, February 24, the Cavaliers face one of the four regular season champions of the AAC when they travel to Bluefield College and face the Rams, who finished their league slate at 11-5.