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Columbia International University Athletics

Mens' BB Champ pic
74
Erskine ERSKINE 3-14
79
Winner Columbia International COLUMBIA 15-7
Erskine ERSKINE
3-14
74
Final
79
Columbia International COLUMBIA
15-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Erskine ERSKINE 46 28 74
Columbia International COLUMBIA 35 44 79

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | gfrierson

Men's Basketball wins third straight NCCAA South Region Championship

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The CIU men's basketball team took on NCAA DII Erskine College in the NCCAA South Region Championship on Thursday. The Rams would come from behind to defeat the Flying Fleet 79-74 for their third consecutive South Region Championship. The win gave the Rams their first victory over an NCAA DII opponent since November 19th, 2018 when CIU defeated North Greenville University. CIU moves to 15-7 on the season and will get another chance at a NCCAA national title after last year's trip to the national tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.

How It Happened:

First Half: EC 46 CIU 35: The Rams leaped out to an early 8-3 advantage after a 3-pointer from both Skyler McKinney and Brandon Doss. However, Erskine snagged a 21-15 lead with 11:28 remaining in the first half until another McKinney triple and an Elijah Spalding layup brought the score to 21-20. Erskine continued to extend its advantage, but a Corey Benton 3-pointer brought the deficit back within 1-point 29-28 with 6:21 left in the half. Despite a close contest until around the 3:00 mark Erskine would finish the half on a 9-0 run to take a 46-35 lead into halftime.

Second Half: CIU 79 EC 74: Erskine took as much as a 12-point advantage early in the second half, 54-42, before the Rams bounced back. CIU gradually worked their way back into the contest, finally tying the game on a Brandon Doss free throw at the 6:07 mark. Benton would then give the Rams the lead on the next possession for the first time since the first half as the Rams pulled ahead 68-66. The Rams found themselves deadlocked at 72-72 when Doss drilled a clutch three to put the Rams up 75-72 with :34 seconds remaining. Late free throws from Benton and Jalen Brinson closed the game out as the Rams took home the 79-74 win.

  • NCCAA South Region Player of the Year Corey Benton added to his legendary career as he scored 31 points to lead all scorers.
  • Skyler McKinney had 12 points while going a blistering 4-6 from the 3-point range.
  • Elijah Spalding had 10 points to go along with six rebounds and a block.
  • Coach Tony Stockman has won the NCCAA South Region in each of his three years as the head coach of CIU will make his 8th career trip to the NCCAA National Tournament.
What Coach Tony Stockman is saying:
I am excited to have won the regional championship and am happy for Corey, Brandon, Kyren and Elijah as this is their third in a row. I am so proud of how the guys locked in in the second half and really showed toughness and defended to hold Erskine to 28 points in the half. We executed and guys made some big plays on both ends of the court.

Up Next: 

CIU will travel to Winona Lake, Indiana, to play the first NCCAA National Tournament game on Wednesday, March 17th

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