The Columbia International University Men's Basketball team took to the road to take on the Skyhawks of Point University in a key game for the Rams. With the Rams win they controlled their own destiny for the AAC Tournament. The Rams struggled in the first half, but got it going in the second half to win 94-85. With the win the Rams move to 15-13 on the year and 10-12 in conference.

1st Half Highlights:

• The Rams opened the game up on a 6-0 run with a three by Damian Hurta and a three point play by Corey Benton
• The Skyhawks came back scoring the next five points to pull within on, but a layup by Hurta gave the Rams a three point lead back
• Jeff McIlwain would score the Rams next four points, but the Skyhawks would tie the game at 12
• The Skyhawks would take their first lead of the game, but Tyrone Dantzler Jr. would give the Rams the lead back with a three pointer
• A jumper by Eric Graham in the paint gave the Rams a three point lead, but the Skyhawks would tie the game back at 17
• The Skyhawks would take their first lead of the game on a free throw, but a three by Elijah Spalding gave the Rams the lead back
• The teams tied again at 23, but another three by Spalding gave the Rams the lead
• With seven minutes left in the half the Skyhawks regained the lead
• The Skyhawks would push their lead up to seven on numerous occasions and the Rams cut it to two a couple times, but we unable to regain the lead
• At the half the Skyhawks led the Rams 53-46

2nd Half Highlights:

• The two teams continued battling to begin the second half matching each other basket for basket
• Six and a half minutes into the half the Rams were able to tie the game at 66 on a three by Graham
• Just a minute later Graham tied the game again to be follow by Kyren Bolden giving the Rams the lead
• With nine and a half minutes left in the game the Rams were able to push their lead to seven points
• The Skyhawks were able to pull back within one with just under eight minutes left, but points by Graham and Bolden gave the Rams another four point lead
• With three minutes left in the game Corey Benton hit a three to give the Rams a double digit lead
• The Rams held onto a double digit lead for almost the rest of the game, but a three by the Skyhawks pulled them within nine
• After a full forty minutes the Rams pulled out an impressive 94-85 victory

Box Score Highlights:

• The Rams shots were falling tonight as they shot 50% (36-of-72) from the field and were 10-of-31 from the three point line...The Skyhawks shot 46.2% and were 18-of-20 from the charity stripe...The Rams limited their turnovers to eight, but forced the Skyhawks into 17 turnovers...The Rams tightened up their defense in the second half as they only allowed 32 points...Eric Graham led the Rams with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting...Arthur Pearson had 15 points...Jeff McIlwain had 16 points and five rebounds...Damian Hurta was the last Ram in double figures with 11 points...The Skyhawks only had five players score, but B.J. Brown led them with 28 points

Coaches Comment: "We went into the half down by seven, but were able to come out and score 53 and limit them to 32 in the second half! Our guys really locked in on defense and made it difficult on the Skyhawks to score. It was a big win for our team and program to put us into the conference tournament our first year! Excited for how the guys worked hard and how they continue to grow as a team."

Up Next: The Rams will be in action on Thursday, February 21 in the AAC Tournament in Kingsport, Tennessee. The Rams will have to wait until late tonight to see who they will match up againt.