After opening their season on Saturday with a win against College of Faith the Columbia International University men's basketball team was looking to start the season on a winning streak as they traveled to Cleveland, GA to take on Truett-McConnell University. The Rams and Bears battled throughout the game, but ultimately the Bears were able to claw past the Rams and hold on for a 81-65 victory. With the loss the Rams drop to 1-1 on the young season, while the Bears move to 3-2.

The Rams were the first team to score as Damian Hurta was able to hit a three just twenty-three seconds into the game. However, that would be the largest lead the Rams would hold in the game. The teams would battle and the Rams would take a 14-12 lead at the 15:40 mark with a good jumper from Ryan Gibson. The teams would continue to battle and stay within striking distance of each other. The Rams would tie the game once again when Caleb Gwynn hit a three to tie the game at 19. The Rams would then struggle to hit some key shots, while the Bears made theirs to take a 44-34 lead into the half.

The Rams came out of the half looking to trim the Bears lead and they did just that as they were able to get the deficit down to six after a jumper in the paint from Gabe Kirk. However, the Bears would push their lead double digits at the 13:07 mark and their lead would stay in double digits the rest of the game. The Rams would trim the lead to ten and eleven a couple times, but just couldn't get it within striking distance. When the horn sounded the Rams fell 81-65.

Coach Marshall Tague had this to say on the game, "We played hard in a tough environment on the road. It was good to see the fight in the guys. We had opportunities to trim the lead their lead in the second half, but a few shots didn't fall when we needed them. They became a bit too much down the stretch for us, but the guys played hard."

The Rams shot 43% for the game...The Rams also shot 38.5 from behind the three point line...Gibson led the Rams with 16 points...Hurta and Jordan Dillingham each had 11 points...JC Cavin had a well-rounded game for Rams as he had 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists...Each of the Rams starters had at least 8 points...Mario Westbrooks had 22 points for the Bears.

The Rams will be in action this weekend as they take part in the Bruins Invitational hosted by Bob Jones University. The Rams will take on Montreat College on Friday at 5 p.m. and then on Saturday they will take on the Bruins at 4 p.m.