The Columbia International University Men's Basketball team made the trip down to Melbourne, Florida to take part in the Florida Tech Winter Classic. The Rams played the night game against NCAA DII Florida Tech tonight. The Rams and Panthers battled all game long, but the Panthers came out on top 96-82.

1st Half Highlights:

• The Panthers scored the first points of tonights game, but the Rams would hit five three's in a row to take an early 15-5 lead. Brandon Doss (2), Eric Graham, and Corey Benton (2) hit the three's
• Brandon Doss would hit two more three's and give the Rams a 21-7 lead
• The Panthers would then go on a 16-2 run to tie the game at 23
• The two teams would go back and forth as the teams would tie at 34, 37, and 39
• The Rams were only able to score six more points to close the half and trailed 52-45 at half

2nd Half Highlights:

• Jeff McIlwain would score the first points of the second half
• The Panthers would jump out to an 18 point lead just four minutes into the half
• The Rams struggled in the beginning of the half as the Panthers raced out to a big lead
• The Rams started to score and were able to trim the lead to 14 after a three by Damian Hurta
• After a full 40 minutes the Rams fell 96-82 to the Panthers

Box Score Highlights:

• The Rams shot 42.9% (27-of-63) from the floor and were 16-of-36 from beyond the arch, while the Panthers shot 48.4% (31-of-64) from the field and were 22-of-29 from the free throw line...The Panthers held a 44-32 rebounding advantage over the Rams...Corey Benton led the Rams with 15 points and five assists...Brandon Doss and Eric Graham each had 14 points and three assists...Tajae Anderson was the final Ram in double figures with 10 points...Jeff McIlwain, Damian Hurta, and Elijah Spalding all had nine points...Antonis Pefanis led the Panthers with 26 points

Up Next: The Rams will close out the tournament tomorrow as they take on Embry-Riddle University at 3:30 pm.