The Columbia International University Men's Basketball team played their first ever conference game at home tonight as they welcomed Milligan College. The Buffaloes were picked to finish second in the conference in the preseason poll. The Rams and Buffaloes battled, but a few late buckets by the Buffaloes saw the Rams chance of an upset come to an end. The Buffaloes would win 84-79.

1st Half Highlights:

• Over the first five minutes the two teams would go back and forth as the lead changed five times and the game was tied three times
• The Buffaloes would take the lead after that and push the lead to double figures with 9:14 left in the first half
• The Rams would start to chip away at the deficit and pull within two after free throws by Corey Benton
• At the half the Buffaloes would lead 44-39

2nd Half Highlights:

• The Rams would start off strong with a three from Damian Hurta
• The teams would go back and forth and the Rams came within one point of tying it after a three by Tyrone Dantzler Jr.
• The Rams would regain the lead for the first time since the first half after free throws and a layup from Benton
• The game started to go back and forth again as the neither team was able to separate themselves from the other a build a lead
• With seven minutes left in the game the Rams were able to tie the game at 72 after a three from Eric Graham and the Rams took the 75-72 lead off another Graham three
• The Buffaloes would tie the game at 75 and then regain the lead. The Buffaloes would hold onto the lead the rest of the game and win 84-79

Box Score Highlights:

• The Rams shot 37% from the floor and were 11-of-18 from the free throw line, while the Buffaloes shot 42.9% and were 6-of-25 from the three point line...The Buffaloes held a small 45-42 rebounding advantage...The Rams finished the night with 15 assists...Corey Benton led the Rams with 17 points and six assists...Tyrone Dantzler Jr. and Eric Graham were also in double figures with 15 and 14 points respectively...Jeff McIlwain was one point shy of a double-double as he had 10 rebounds and 9 points...Tyler Nichols led the Buffaloes with 26 points.

Up Next: The Rams will be back in action this weekend as they travel to Truett-McConnell University on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 pm.