TALLADEGA, Ala. - CIU men's basketball opened the season on Thursday against the 2021-2022 NAIA Men's Basketball National Runner-Up, Talladega College (Ala.). Despite a late push from CIU the Rams fell 78-65 to drop their first game of the season to the Tornadoes. 

It was a tight contest through the first ten minutes, with CIU trailing just 18-14 after a layup from DiAnthony Heathcock at the 10:31 mark. The Tornadoes would begin to pull away, however, taking their largest lead of the half 35-22, with just under two minutes remaining before the break. The Rams would score five points down the stretch but still trail 39-27 at the half.

Talladega immediately extended thier advantage out to 15 (44-29) in the early going of the second half and then led by as much as 21 (59-38) at the 12:00 minute mark in the second half. The Rams slowly chipped away, trimming the lead to 76-65 on a Darrian Oates 3-pointer with a minute remaining. The push was not enough, as CIU dropped their first game of the season 78-65.

The Rams did have balanced scoring, with five players recording double-figures on the evening.  Oates scored 17 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Fellow senior Skyler McKinney was efficient, shooting 50% from the field and scoring 12 points. Heathcock battled inside for CIU, filling the stat sheet with 11 points and eight rebounds. 

What Coach Tony Stockman is saying: "Coach Jackson has done a good job reloading talent after taking over a program that lost some really good players in the offseason. We have a lot to work on before our first conference game, but hopefully, we can learn from this experience and get better."

Up Next: The Rams will host Spartanburg Methodist (S.C) in a home exhibition on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 4 PM.