BLUEFIELD, Va. - The CIU men's basketball team headed northward for their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) road contest of the season as they were pitted against Bluefield University (Va.) on Thursday evening. In what would turn out to be a wild finish, the Rams dropped their second conference game of the season 76-74 to Bluefield as CIU moves to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
The Rams were down by 15 points at halftime 37-22, and trailed by as much as 17 points early in the second half. CIU came storming back, however, to take a one-point lead with 5:53 remaining in the contest. Despite the comeback, the Rams would find themselves down by three, 76-74 with ten seconds remaining; junior Skyler McKinney would be fouled shooting the game-tying three with seven seconds left but only managed to knock down one of three free throws. However, an offensive foul by Bluefield gave the Rams another possession, but Darrian Oates' short jump shot rolled out as time expired, and the Rams fell by a mere two points.Â
Bryce Causey led the Rams in scoring going 6-of-13 from the field for 16 points. McKinney and freshman Christian Howard each chipped in 12 points as Howard snagged eight boards.Â
Sophomore DiAnthony Heathcock made the most of his trips to the charity stripe, going 4-of-4 from the line on his way to eight points. Heathcock also added six rebounds to his season total.Â
The story of the game was the Rams first half shooting as CIU shot just 28% from the field in the first 20 minutes of the contest.Â
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What Coach Stockman is saying:Â
"Proud of the guys of how the guys played hard in the second half but disappointed in the first half effort. Have to learn to show up every day."
Up Next:
CIU returns home to host Bryan College (Tenn.) on Saturday. Nov. 13 at 4 PM.Â
