Athens, Tenn. - The CIU men's basketball team had won four straight games prior to their Saturday contest with Tennesee Wesleyan University. The Rams (6-4, 4-4 AAC) came into the game, riding high off of a double-digit win against Milligan (Tenn.) this past Wednesday. The Bulldogs (10-1, 7-0 AAC) would prove to be stiffer competition as they eked out a win over the Rams, 62-61, to stay undefeated in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). 

It was a competitive first half as CIU trailed 31-25 at the break. Freshman Christian Howard was solid for the Rams in the first 20 minutes leading CIU in scoring with seven points. The waning seconds of the second half, however, is what decided the game as the Rams experienced their most dramatic ending to a game thus far this season. With the Rams trailing 61-59 Skyler McKinney intercepted a pass and tied the contest with a layup on the other end with 19 seconds remaining. Then with just three seconds remaining, Tennesee Wesleyan's Tyler Ray would throw up a wild shot but CIU's Jalen Brinson was called for a foul on the shot attempt. Ray would make one of two free throws, and a desperation heave by Darrian Oates fell short as the Rams lost 62-61. 

Junior guard Darrian Oates was the backbone of CIU all evening as he scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and notched ten rebounds for a double-double . Skyler McKinney and Jalen Brinson were the two other players in double-digits as McKinney scored 13 points while Brinson scored 11 points. CIU struggled from behind the arc as a team going 3-20 from 3-point range. 

Up Next:

CIU will play a Division I exhibition contest against Campbell (N.C.) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Buies Creek, North Carolina.