BARBOURVILLE, Ky. – No. 14 Union College muscled its way to a 75-56 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) victory on Tuesday, handing 19th-ranked Montreat its first loss of the year.

The win improves Union to 6-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play, while Montreat drops to 9-1 overall and 4-1 in the AAC.

Seth Cox came off the bench for the Bulldogs and turned in a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. However, it was Austin Cummins fueling the Union attack with a game-high 22 points and a career-high nine assists.

Cummings hit 4-of-8 from 3-point range and sank 8-of-9 at the foul line. The sophomore guard netted 19 points during the second half when the Bulldogs seized control of the game.

Montreat jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on 3-pointers from Terrell Sheffey and Jalen White, but a 9-2 run put Union up briefly at the 15:31 mark. The lead swapped hands three more times as the Cavaliers took a 17-15 following a pair of Alonzo Mobley free throws with 8:46 left in the half.

The Bulldogs embarked on a 15-3 surge to open up a 30-20 lead and never trailed again. Montreat cut the margin to five, but Union took a 32-25 lead into the break.

Back-to-back buckets pulled the Cavaliers within 32-29, yet that was as close they would get to pulling even as the Bulldogs used a 13-3 stretch to open up a 45-32 cushion. Cummins netted five points during the run with Kamall Richards adding four.

Union began to steadily pad its lead, opening up a 70-50 lead following a Robert Blunt free throw with 5:06 remaining. The Bulldogs led by as much as 22 en route to the 75-56 victory.

Richards also finished in double figures for Union, scoring 15 to go with seven rebounds.

For Montreat, White led the way with 13 points with Mobley added 11.

Union dominated the glass, outrebounding the visitors 48-31.

Up Next

Union stays in AAC play on Thursday when it welcome Reinhardt to town. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.