Tennessee Wesleyan, Truett McConnell Advance to Men's Basketball Quarterfinal Round

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - There was one upset in the first round of the 2024 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Men's Basketball Tournament as No. 10 seed Truett McConnell upended seventh-seeded Reinhardt 95-72 on Wednesday.

No. 8 seed Tennessee Wesleyan won the other first-round contest, defeating No. 9 seed Montreat 87-77.

Truett McConnell had a steady and strong offensive attack as it shot 53.6 percent (37-of-69 shots) from the field. The Bears hit 56.8 percent of their shots in the second half alone as they turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 23-point margin of victory.

Five Bears scored in double figures with Raul Arias-Ortega coming off the bench to lead the way with 18. KJ Riley hit 7-of-8 shots in finishing with 16 points.

Reinhardt's Nate Jones led all scorers with 23 points.

Montreat lit it up from long range, hitting 17-of-38 3-point attempts. Tennessee Wesleyan, though, was able to handle the barrage and rallied past Montreat for the 10-point win. The Cavaliers led by as much as 10 points in the second, but the Bulldogs closed the game on a 19-5 run in scoring the 87-77 victory.

Five Bulldogs scored in double figures with Amauri Young and Peyton West leading the way with 16 points each. Montreat got 53 points from its bench with Jamiel Wright's 17 points leading the way.

Tennessee Wesleyan will face No. 1 seed Union on Thursday at 10:15 a.m., while Truett McConnell will take on No. 2 seed Pikeville at 3:30 p.m.

Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 28
Game 1 - No. 8 Tennessee Wesleyan (12-14) def. No. 9 Montreat (14-15), 87-77 (box)
Game 2 - No. 10 Truett McConnell (12-17) def. No. 7 Reinhardt (12-16), 95-72 (box)

Thursday, Feb. 29
Game 3 - No. 4 Milligan (14-12) vs. No. 5 Johnson (15-12), 8:30 a.m.
Game 4 - No. 1 Union (22-6) vs. No. 8 Tennessee Wesleyan (12-14), 10:15 a.m.
Game 5 - No. 2 Pikeville (22-6) vs. No. 10 Truett McConnell (12-17), 3:30 p.m.
Game 6 - No. 3 Columbia International (18-10) vs. No. 6 Bryan (15-12), 5:15 p.m.

Friday, March 1
Game 7 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 2 p.m.
Game 8 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.

Saturday, March 2
Game 9 - Championship Game - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 1 p.m.