After picking up their first conference win on Wednesday at Allen University the Columbia International University Men's Basketball team took to the road. This afternoon was the battle of the Rams as CIU took on Bluefield College. It was a close game throughout, but it was Bluefield who was victorious, 99-89.

1st Half Highlights:

• CIU got on the board first with a two by Corey Benton
• The two teams went back and forth trading leads, but Bluefield built a small lead
• With just over nine minutes left in the half, Bluefield built a 12 point lead
• CIU fought back and pulled within one with twenty-eight seconds left in the half after a two by Tyrone Dantzler Jr.
• Bluefield took a 38-35 lead at the half

2nd Half Highlights:

• Just like the first half the two teams went back and forth
• With 15:44 left in the game the Rams regained the lead, 51-50, off a three by Damian Hurta
• Bluefield would regain the lead and push it to double digits on multiple occasions
• CIU would pull within seven one more time off a Julius Chamble three, but Bluefield would win 99-89

Box Score Highlights:

• CIU shot 41.1% (30-of-73) from the field and were 15-of-36 from beyond the arc, while Bluefield shot 55.4% (36-of-65) from the floor and were 17-of-26 from the free throw line...CIU lead with 41 rebounds, while Bluefield had 33...Corey Benton led the Rams with 21 points...Jeff McIlwain was a rebound short of a double-double as he had 15 points and 9 rebounds...Julius Chamble and Brandon Doss were the other Rams in double figure with 13 and 10 points...Niquan Cousins led Bluefield with 25 points and 9 rebounds

Up Next: Columbia International will be back on the road Monday at North Greenville University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.