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Columbia International University Athletics

Johnson Jumper
73
Winner Columbia International COLUMBIA 1-0, 0-0
72
Trinity Baptist TRINITY 0-1, 0-0
Winner
Columbia International COLUMBIA
1-0, 0-0
73
Final
72
Trinity Baptist TRINITY
0-1, 0-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Columbia International COLUMBIA 34 39 73
Trinity Baptist TRINITY 40 32 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | gfrierson

Johnson's Three Gives CIU the Opening Night Victory

Jacksonville, FL - The CIU Men's basketball team opened the 2019-20 season Friday night in Jacksonville, FL, against the Eagles of Trinity Baptist College. The 2018-19 season saw the Rams and Eagles meet once with the Rams coming away with a 93-75 win. However, Friday night's game did not come as easy as CIU would barely steal a 73-72 win over Trinity Baptist. 

How it Happened

CIU would start the game hot and jumped out to an early lead, but the Eagles would not stay behind for long and took a 40-34 advantage into halftime. After a back and forth affair, the Rams would find themselves deadlocked at 68-68. Freshman Darrian Oates would run the floor off a defensive rebound and be fouled by the Eagles on a layup. Oates calmly knocked down both free throws to give the Rams a 70-68 lead. Unfortunately for CIU, the Eagles would score off a backdoor cut and then again off a tip-in with thirty seconds remaining, putting CIU down 72-70. On the ensuing position, the Rams put the ball in the hands of senior John Johnson in their half-court set. Johnson would take a dribble to the left of the lane and bury a three-pointer over the Eagles defense with just over twenty seconds left in the game. CIU would force a miss on the other end and narrowly pull out the victory 73-72.

Game Notes 
  • Junior Corey Benton led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 43% from behind the arc. 
  • Jeff McIlwain posted a double-double with 13 rebounds and 10 points.
  • On top of his game-winning three-pointer, John Johnson was second on the team in scoring with 14 points on a steller 80% (4-5) from three. 
  • The Rams held the Eagles to shooting just 36% from the field and 18% (2-11) from three-point range in the second half. 

What Coach Stockman is saying

"They played harder than us in the first half, but I thought our guys matched their effort as the game went on. Darrian Oates had an excellent game for us on the defensive end and got us stops when needed them. Obviously, John hit a big shot late, but he was solid all game just as you would expect out of a fourth-year player. 

Up Next

CIU will travel to downtown Columbia to face off against the University of South Carolina in an exhibition game on October 30th at 7 p.m
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