Koala Men's Rally Falls Short at Montreat

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The Columbia College men's basketball team rallied in the second half but ended up falling just short in the end as Montreat defeated the Koalas 84-73 from UNC-Asheville Tuesday evening.

Montreat got out to a 37-26 lead at halftime as they made a three at the first half buzzer extending their lead to 11. However, in the second half, the Koalas began one of their many rallies this time going on an 18-10 run to trail by just three with 14 minutes left. MC would then extend it back out to nine points at 58-49 at the 10-minute mark.

Columbia would then rally again getting all the way to within two points on AJ Vaught's layup at 68-66 with 6:30 to play. They then had a chance to take the lead a minute later on a Whitley three-pointer but it rimmed out. The Cavs would then push their lead back out to eight soon after and make their free throws down the stretch and go on for the win.

Junior wing Thomas Whitley led the Koalas with a 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting while knocking down four 3-pointers for the third straight game. Fellow junior wing Chandler O'Bannon then posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds along with 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks as he had a solid all-around game. 

Junior guard AJ Vaught also finished in double-figures with 11 points and 6 assists while fellow guard, senior Mac Washington totaled 8 points with 2 assists. Junior guard Tae Burton was the fourth member of the Koalas to finish with double-digit points scoring 13 with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

Columbia falls to 9-7 overall and 2-6 in the conference while Montreat improves to 11-5 and 5-3 in the AAC. The Koalas next return to action on Saturday on the road at Bryan College (Tenn.).