North Charleston, SC- The CIU men's basketball team traveled to the Lowcountry to take on the NCAA Division 1 Buccaneers of Charleston Southern on Tuesday night. The contest would be the first of the season for the Buccaneers, while CIU would enter the game 2-0. The game counted as an exhibition for CIU and a regular-season affair for CSU. The evening was the 7th matchup all-time between the teams. CIU would lead the majority of the first half but would eventually fall to the Buccaneers 99-71.

1st Half CSU 50 CIU 44: Skyler McKinney started the scoring off for the Rams with a tough bucket inside off a nice spin move. Threes from Corey Benton and McKinney would then give the Rams an early 8-7 lead. Then scores from Eric Graham a and Benton and the Rams would lead 16-7 at the first media timeout. Graham would start the first 5:00 minutes of the game a perfect 3-3 from the field with 7-points. CSU would fight back to cut the Rams lead 20-16 going into the under-twelve media timeout. Moments later, a dunk from the Bucs would give them their first lead of the game. However, a driving layup from freshman Darrian Oates at the end of the shot clock would tie the game at 24-24. The game would stay close until a huge and-one three from Skyler McKinney would put the Rams back in front after McKinney completed the four-point play. CSU would once again grab the lead, and a layup by the Bucs would them a 6-point advantage heading into halftime.

2nd Half CSU 99- CIU 71: CSU exploded out the gate on a 14-2 run in the first 4:00 minutes of the second half. Tajae Anderson would hit a step-back jumper to stop the bleeding and cut the lead to 66-48. Anderson would then give the Rams three more on the traditional three-point play a few possessions later. The Bucs would extend their lead to 21, but a Syvon Holland top of the key three-pointer would cut the lead down to 74-56. Out of a timeout, the Rams would strike again this time with a deep three from Cole Piatko. Still, the Bucs would mount a run, but back to back threes from Piatko would keep the Rams battling. CIU would fight to the final buzzer, but the Bucs would get the win, 99-71.

Game Notes

• Freshmen Skyler McKinney continued with his hot start to the season, shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field and leading the Rams with 13 points.
• Tajae Anderson had 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting.
• The Rams shot 61.5% from the field in the first half including 7 of 10 from beyond the arc
• CIU lead for 11:18 of the first half against their Division 1 opponent.
• CIU held the Bucs to 3 for 12 from three while knocking down 12 treys themselves, shooting 41% from deep.

Coach Stockman Quotables

On CIU's hot start against the Bucs

"I was impressed with our defense at the beginning of the game. We made them take some tough shots, and on the other end of the floor, we made some difficult shots."

On Skyler McKinney

"I felt that Skyler looked like he belonged on the court with their guys. He stayed in front on defensive and got stops. On offensive, he was impressive physically, being able to get to his spots scoring from the outside, and getting into the paint."

On a quick turnaround against Allen University on Wednesday 

"Playing against this level of competition always shows you what you need to get better at. Today was a great experience, but I am excited for our game tomorrow, and I think we will be ready."

Up Next

The Rams open conference play tomorrow at Allen University in Columbia, SC, at 7:30 PM.