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AAC Tournament Preview: Men's Basketball
Posted: Feb 23, 2023

AAC Tournament Preview: Men's Basketball

Video Recap Recap Box Score

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (February 23, 2023) – After a 15-13 overall record and 14-10 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) conference record, the men's basketball team find themselves as the #6 seed in the AAC Men's Basketball Tournament. The Skyhawks will get the sixth game of the tournament when they will face the #3 seed Montreat College (17-10 overall, 15-9 conference) at 9:15 P.M. tonight. All games will be played at the MeadowView Marriott Convention Center & Conference Resort in Kingsport, TN.

 

Previous Meetings (2022-2023 season)

  • Montreat defeated Point in both of their matchups this season.
  • Nov 12 – 59-53 loss at home
  • Nov 12 (top scorers) – Maze (22pts) and Wright (15 pts)
  • Jan 14 – 77-72 OT loss at Montreat
  • Jan 14 (top scorers) – Wright (18pts) and Maze (12pts)

 

Key Players (Point Skyhawks)

  • Javier Turner (AAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team) – The 6'11 force in the paint, finished the regular season with 7.0 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and 2.1 blocks per game. Turner broke a school record for most blocks in game with 9 on January 17 against Truett McConnell.
  • RJ Selman (AAC Second Team All-Conference) – Selman finished the regular season with 13 points per game, 2.9 assists per game and 0.9 steals per game. This season Selman would surpass the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career.
  • Jake Smith (AAC Second Team All-Conference, All-Defensive Team) – Smith finished the regular season with 8.1 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game and 6.0 assists per game. With his multiple double-double performances and triple-doubles, the scoring threat is looking to make an impact in the AAC Tournament.

 

Key Players (Montreat Cavaliers)

  • Jardan Maze (AAC First Team All-Conference) – The sophomore shot 42.2 percent overall, averaged 14.9 points per game and rebounded a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game.
  • Mike Flenory (AAC All-Defensive Team) – Flenory would grab 4.3 rebounds per game and would average 1.2 steals a game. Also adding to his mix would be his 2.4 assists per game.
  • Michael Erbeck and Gabriel Rivera (All-Freshman Team) – Erbeck would shoot 43.9 percent from the field and 38.7 from three-point land this past season. Rivera would average 3.1 rebounds per game and add 1.3 assists per game for the Cavaliers.

 

Injury List (Montreat Cavaliers)

  • Jamiel Wright (AAC Second Team All-Conference) suffered a season ending injury.
  • Nov 12 - 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 6-6 from the charity stripe.
  • Jan 14 – 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 4-4 from the charity stripe.

 

Keys to Victory for the Skyhawks

  • Execute in the paint. (Shot 30.6% from the field on Nov 12 and 31.3% on Jan 14)
  • More consistency at the charity stripe (Nov 12- 62.5% and Jan 14- 76.7%)
  • 6'11 Javier Turner being big on defense will play dividends.
  • Benjamin Ross has a big game (Nov 12- 0pts and Jan 14- 7pts)
  • Jack Gray drains a few three-pointers early in the contest.
  • If Ross and Gray achieve their goals, it will open the game for shooters like Jake Smith and RJ Selman to close out the game down the stretch.

 

AAC Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule

Wednesday, February 22

Game 1- #8 Milligan vs. #9 Truett McConnell, 81-69 Truett McConnell

Game 2- #7 Columbia International vs. #10 Bluefield, 68-51 CIU

 

Thursday, February 23

Game 3- #1 Union vs. #9 Truett McConnell, 12:00 P.M.

Game 4- #4 Tennessee Wesleyan vs. #5 Bryan, 1:45 P.M.

Game 5- #2 Reinhardt vs. #7 CIU, 7:30 P.M.

Game 6- #3 Montreat vs. #6 Point, 9:15 P.M.

 

Friday, February 24

Game 7- Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 6:00 P.M.

Game 8- Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 8:00 P.M.

 

Saturday, February 25

Game 9-Championship Game

Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 3:00 P.M.