The Columbia International University Men's Basketball saw their winning streak snapped on Wednesday against Milligan College, but the Rams were back on the court today taking on Allen University. The Yellow Jackets made the short trip to CIU after defeating Reinhardt earlier this week. A strong game by the Rams propelled them to a 80-71 victory over town rival Yellow Jackets. With the win the Rams move to 11-8 (6-7 AAC), while the Yellow Jackets fall to 8-12 (5-9 AAC).

1st Half Highlights:

• The Yellow Jackets got the game started with four straight points, but a three by Corey Benton got the Rams on the board
• After a Yellow Jackets basket, Arthur Pearson was able to find Jeff McIlwain for an easy dunk
• Four straight points by Pearson got the game tied at nine
• The Rams would tie the game once again off a three by Eric Graham
• The Yellow Jackets would regain the lead and push it to seven with nine minutes left in the half
• The Rams fought back with a 9-0 run and took their first lead of the game with five and half minutes left in the half
• The Yellow Jackets would tie the game just forty-five seconds later
• The teams would tie once again at 27 before the Yellow Jackets regained the lead with three and a half minutes left
• The Rams closed the half on a 10-0 run to lead 37-29 at the half

2nd Half Highlights:

• McIlwain would score the first points of the half to give the Rams a double digit lead
• The teams would go back and forth, but the Rams would take a twelve point lead off two free throws by McIlwain
• With thirteen minutes left in the game the Yellow Jackets would pull within six of the Rams
• Seven straight points by Benton gave the Rams another double digit lead with ten minutes left in the game
• The Rams would get six points from Elijah Spalding and a fast break layup by Pearson gave the Rams a 21 point lead
• The Yellow Jackets would fight back and pull with ten with just over two minutes left to go
• The Rams would push their lead back to double figures, but a late basket by the Yellow Jackets led the final score of 80-71

Box Score Highlights:

• The Rams shot 44.8% (30-of-67) from the floor, but were 16-of-19 from the charity stripe, while the Yellow Jackets were 37.1% (26-of-70) from the field, but were a dismal 2-of-18 from the three point line...The Yellow Jackets held a small 45-42 rebounding advantage over the Rams...The Rams led the game with 46 points in the paint and 14 fast break points...The Rams had 21 assists and forced 20 Yellow Jacket turnovers...Jeff McIlwain led the Rams with 28 points and 15 rebounds...Corey Benton was right behind him with 25 points...Arthur Pearson was the last Rams in double figure points with 14 points and chipped in with six assists and five rebounds...Elijah Spalding had eight points off the bench...Leroy Williams II had 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets

Up Next: The Rams will be back in action on Monday when they take on #9 Union College at 7:30 pm.