WEST POINT, Ga – After having their five-game winning streak snapped Saturday, the CIU men's basketball team bounced back against the Point University Skyhawks Thursday night. The Rams pulled out a gritty 85-82 win to pick up their 10th overall win on the season and move to 7-5 in the AAC. The win vaulted the Rams over the Skyhawks in the conference standings where CIU now sits in 6th, and Point drops to 7th.

How It Happened:

1st Half CIU 48 PU 40: The first half of the contest saw a high scoring affair. The Rams burst out to a 13-2 advantage over the Skyhawks after a basket inside by Jeff McIlwain. The Rams then saw their lead balloon to 12-points, 25-13 off an Eric Graham bucket just past the 10:00 minute mark. Despite good shooting from Graham and Arthur Pearson, the Skyhawks would pull within eight 48-40 at halftime. Corey Benton and Pearson would both end the half with 10 points while McIlwain would lead the Rams with 11 points.

2nd Half CIU 85 Point 82: The Rams would build off their first-half success and extend their advantage to 17-points, 68-51, with 11:35 remaining in regulation. McIlwain would continue to score inside, but the Skyhawks would claw their back into the contest. CIU would struggle to defend, and Point completed a 25-6 run to take a 76-74 lead until Elijah Spalding would tie the game on a score in the paint. Down the stretch, junior Corey Benton would take over to score eight of the Rams final nine points, and CIU would pull out the victory 85-82.

Game Notes:

• Sharpshooter Corey Benton scored 23 points, 9 of which came from behind the arc.
• Senior Jeff McIlwain recorded yet another double-double with 11 rebounds and 15 points
• Arthur Pearson (12 points), Eric Graham (16 Points), and Elijah Spalding (10 points) would bring the total number of Rams players in double-digits to five.
• Once again, the Rams capitalized on the defensive end, racking up 23 points off turnovers while posting 13 steals.

Up Next:

CIU will host Bryan College on Saturday, January 11th, at 7:30 p.m.