The men's basketball team from Montreat College traveled far and wide in search of its first victory of the new season before eventually beating an opponent located about ten miles away.

After two opening losses in Florida and a defeat in Georgia that left the Cavaliers with an 0-3 record, Montreat finally hosted a game in McAlister Gymnasium when Warren Wilson College came into the valley on Saturday, November 14.  The Cavaliers downed their local rivals 79-65 behind four double-figure scorers and a solid defensive effort.

Head Coach Jonathan Bennett saw his team weather a strong opening half from the Owls and take a narrow advantage to the locker room.  Bennett had his team apply greater defensive pressure in the second half and eventually build a double-digit lead.  

The Cavaliers were led by Dustin Harris' double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.  But Bennett cited others who made strong contributions to the team: Seth Moore added a second double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Matt Rushing contributed 15 points and Daniel Kennedy scored 11.  

In falling to 3-2, Warren Wilson was paced by Dan Jackson's 16 points and Alex Spazovski's 15.  

Though pleased to record their first win of the young season, Bennett is looking for improvement as Montreat faces a big week: they travel to Boiling Springs, NC to tackle Gardner-Webb University on Monday, November 16, then tip-off their Appalachian Athletic Conference game of the year at Milligan College on Wednesday the 18th and finally end the week by hosting conference foe Bluefield College on Saturday.

Montreat College showed signs of promise early in their road game against Emmanuel College but relinquished a first half lead on the way to falling 79-61 on Tuesday, November 10.  

The loss dropped the Cavaliers' record to 0-3, but things might turn around sooner than later.  For one thing, Montreat has yet to welcome an opponent to the friendly confines of McAlister Gym after playing twice in Florida before losing to the Lions in Franklin Springs, Georgia in their last outing.

But Montreat Head Coach Jonathan Bennett sees more than scheduling when he examines the team's prospects for wins.  "We had a 12-point lead early in the game and held Emmanuel to only six points in the first 10 minutes of the first half."   The Lions erased that deficit, but Montreat's cohesive, hustling opening hints at a good team that needs to learn to sustain its effort.

Dustin Harris did all he could to gather that elusive first win, scoring 19 and grabbing 8 rebounds, while Seth Moore scored 12 and Matt Rushing crashed the boards on his way to 13 rebounds.

But those performances weren't enough to overcome 35% field goal shooting and 32 turnovers.  Bennett surveys those statistics and summarizes that those numbers are "not a recipe for success when it comes to winning basketball games.  We did some good things last night but have a long way to go.  We will keep working hard."

Bennett and the players point to Saturday's 4:00 tip-off with local rival Warren Wilson College as a chance to break through.  And, after hundreds of miles worth of road games, they can also finally point home.

The Cavalier basketball squad continued their away game stint in Florida last Friday in a match up with Embry Riddle University. The Eagles were ranked 14th in the pre-season national NAIA poll. They proved too much for the Cavaliers, who lost their second game of the season 100 to 77. Cavalier Terrell Mosely posted 20 points in the contest and Matt Rushing contributed 18 second-half points. Eric Lorenzi was also in double digits with 18 points, as was Brett Rawlings, who came away with 12 points and 13 boards.

Coach Bennett says,"We played a very talented team tonight that was just better than we were.  They were led by soon to be All-American David Butler, who is a mid-major Division I player.  Their post players dominated the game. They outscored us 28-16 in the paint. We were outrebounded 55-30 and could not put enough offense together to keep the game close in the second half."

Coach Bennett and the men's team look forward to their next game with Emmanuel College tomorrow before taking the court for their first home game against neighbor school Warren Wilson on Saturday at 4 P.M.