COLUMBIA, SC – After a tough loss on the road last weekend to Tennessee Wesleyan University, the CIU men's basketball team bounced back versus the Point University Skyhawks. The game would have playoff implications as the 5th place spot in the AAC standings was up for grabs Tuesday night. Point entered the evening looking to avenge their loss to the Rams earlier this month on January 9th. However, CIU rolled over the Skyhawks on the way to their tenth conference win so far this season.

How It Happened

First Half CIU 44 PU 42: In a first half that saw a plethora of scoring from both sides, neither team was able to gain much of a foothold over the other. The largest lead either team saw was a 42-36 advantage by the Rams, which CIU only held for approximately 28 seconds. With the scoring coming early and often, Skyler McKinney posted 11 first-half points while Arthur Pearson sliced up the Skyhawks interior defense getting into the paint at will scoring 12 points in the first.

Second Half CIU 92 PU 77: The Skyhawks hung around early in the half, but CIU would see it's first double-digit lead of the game 61-51 after an Elijah Spalding put back with 14:26 remaining. Then led by the inside presence of Jeff McIlwain, the Rams would continue to extend their advantage 69-58 on a McIlwain post move inside. Solid shooting from behind the arc from McKinney and Corey Benton would close the game out as CIU led by as much as nineteen down the stretch.

Game Notes

• Four of the Rams starters combined for 74 of CIU's 92 points: Corey Benton (21), Arthur Pearson (20), Jeff McIlwain (19), Skyler McKinney (14).
• The big man duo of Elijah Spalding and McIlwain helped the Rams outrebound Point 44 to 28 while also outscoring the Skyhawks the 52-28 in the paint. 
• After posting yet another 20-point game, Corey Benton sits in 12th in the AAC in scoring.

Up Next:

CIU travels to Kentucky to face the 19th ranked Bulldogs of Union College on Saturday, February 1st.