The Columbia International University Men's Basketball team came into tonight's game winners of two straight games and were looking to make it three against the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan University. In the first half it didn't look like the Rams were going to push the streak to three, but a huge comeback over the final four minutes gave the Rams a 66-61 victory. With the win the Rams move to 14-9 on the season and are 9-8 in the AAC, while the fall to 8-13 and 4-12 in the AAC.

1st Half Highlights:

• The Bulldogs got on the board first, but on the next possesion Damian Hurta found Jeff McIlwain for the layup. McIlwain would convert a free throw as well to give the Rams the lead
• Over a two and a half minute span the Bulldogs would score the next seven points
• Tajae Anderson would hit two free throws to get the Rams back on the board
• The Bulldogs would take a double digit lead with 12:29 left in the half
• With back-to-back threes by Eric Graham the Rams would trim the lead back to four
• With just under nine minute left in the half the Rams would pull within two off two layup by Arthur Pearson
• The Rams and Bulldogs would go back and forth. The Bulldogs would push their lead to seven on a couple occasions and push the lead to 11 points with just over two minutes left in the half
• The Rams were back within seven, but a layup by the Bulldogs gave them a 37-28 lead at the half

2nd Half Highlights:

• The Bulldogs would open the half on an 8-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game 
• The Rams would go on an 8-0 run of their own with points by Pearson, Elijah Spalding and Anderson
• The Bulldogs would take a double digit lead again, but a layup by Zach Norris and free throws by Corey Benton trimmed the lead to single digits
• Once again the Rams trailed by double figures with eight minutes left in the game, but after a jumper by McIlwain and a three by Benton the deficit was back to single digits
• The Rams battled and pulled within five on at three by Hurta with five minutes left
• The Bulldogs would score the next two baskets for a nine point lead
• With four minutes left in the game the Rams trailed 61-54, but with a renewed energy the game shifted in the Rams direction
• The Rams pressured the Bulldogs and forced them into key turnovers
• Five straight points by Eric Graham pulled the Rams within two of the Bulldogs with 2:25 left in the game
• With a minute and fifteen seconds left on the clock the Rams tied the game at 61 on a put back layup by McIlwain
• The game sealing dagger came from the hand of Hurta as Pearson found him for the three
• With eight seconds to go, Hurta would hit two more free throws and give the Rams a huge come from behind, 66-61 victory

Box Score Highlights:

• The Rams struggled from the floor as they shot 31.4% (22-of-70) and were only 6-of-24 from beyond the arch...The Bulldogs shot 26-of-66 from the field and were 2-of-14 from the three point line...The Rams had 23 points off 24 Bulldog turnovers...The Rams only had seven turnovers the whole game...Arthur Pearson led the Rams wit 14 points and chipped in with four rebounds and three assists...Eric Graham had 11 points and five rebounds...Jeff McIlwain just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds...Tajae Anderson had eight points, four rebounds, and four assists off the bench...Ty Patterson led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 19 rebounds

Up Next: The Rams will look to continue their winning ways on the road when they take on Bryan College, Saturday at 4 pm.