The Columbia International University Men's Basketball team welcomed conference leader Union College Bulldogs to the Moore Fitness Center tonight as the Rams look to upset the top conference team once again. The Rams and Bulldogs were making this game up as it was originally postponed on December 8 due to snow. The Rams stuck with the Bulldogs in the first half, but struggled in te second half as they fell 86-64.

1st Half Highlights:

• The Rams got one the board first with a layup by Tajae Anderson
• The Rams and Bulldogs would tie at two and four, but a free throw by Arthur Pearson and layup from Tyrone Dantzler Jr. gave the Rams the lead
• The Bulldogs would score the next seven points to regain the lead
• The Bulldogs and Rams would go back and forth, but the Rams were able to pull within three on a layup by Elijah Spalding
• Another layup by Spalding and a jumper from Anderson pulled the Rams within one of the Bulldogs, 20-19 with 9:20 left in the half
• The Bulldogs would once again run their lead up to nine on two occasions
• With just over three minutes left in the half the Rams cut the lead to two off a Pearson layup
• The Rams were down by nine with just 1:14 in the half, but a layup by Graham and a three from Pearson pulled the Rams within four, 42-38 at half

2nd Half Highlights:

• The Bulldogs scored first in the second half, but Jeff McIlwain would match it with a layup of his own
• The two teams would trade baskets back and forth with the Rams getting as close at five, but the Bulldogs also pushing their lead to double figures
• With 8:32 left in the game the Rams were only down by single digits after a layup by Brandon Doss
• Over the final six minutes of the game the Rams would go cold from the field as they scored only four more points
• The Rams fell by the final score of 86-64

Box Score Highlights:

• The Rams shot 37.7% (23-of-61) from the field and were an uncharacteristic 25% from beyond the arc...The Rams also struggled from the free throw line as they wer 13-of-23...The Bulldogs shot 46.8% from the floor and were 11-of-25 from beyond the arc...The Rams and Bulldogs were evenly matched on the board, but the Rams had a game high 22 turnovers...Arthur Pearson led the Rams with 14 points and chipped with three rebounds and three assists...Jeff McIlwain had another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds...Eric Graham had 12 points and five rebounds off the bench...The Bulldogs had five scorers in double figures with DeMarkus Loman leading the way with 20.

Up Next: The Rams will be back on the court Wednesday as they host Bluefield College at 7:30 pm.