[Men's Basketball] Cavs ground Skyhawks, 95-82

WEST POINT, Ga. – With three Cavs scoring in double-figures, men's basketball defeated the Point Skyhawks 95-82 in an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday evening. With the win, the Cavs improve to 11-3 in the league (14-4 overall).

"This game was a great team effort. I thought we did a good job of setting the tone early and then had to respond to a strong Point run. We did a good job of staying the course and building a nice lead in the second half," said head coach Garrett Jones.

The Cavs opened the game on a 14-4 run to take a double-digit lead in the first three minutes of the contest, but the Skyhawks fought back to snag their first of two brief leads within the middle of the first frame. Montreat was able to pull away with the lead on an 11-0 run to close the first period, and went into the half with a 14-point advantage.

The Cavs built up to their biggest lead of the game (25) early in the second half, and coasted to the final buzzer for a double-digit victory.

Austin Butler posted the game-high 30 points while Nicodemus Payne put up 18 and pulled down the team high seven rebounds. Terrell Sheffey was also in double-figures with 17 points. Sheffey and Jeron Hemphill each contributed a pair of assists.

"These last couple weeks have been a grind. It will be nice to have a few days to recover here before we face a great Truett team at home on Wednesday. We will have to be at our best but I look forward to the challenge," said Coach Jones.

Up Next: The Cavs are back home on Jan. 23 to take on AAC foe Truett McConnell in a 7:30 p.m. ET tip.