COLUMBIA, S.C - CIU men's basketball opened the 2022-2023 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) season with a 91-78 win over Johnson (Tenn.) on Saturday. The game was a nice bounce-back for the Rams, who lost their first game of the season to Talledega (Ala.). The win is CIU's 6th win all-time against Johnson as CIU is undefeated in their series with the Royals. 

The Rams trailed in the early moments of the first half, but the fast-paced contest found the Royals and Rams knotted at 30-30 after a Skyler McKinney finished with 7:50 remaining before the intermission. CIU outscored the Royals 15-8 in the final few minutes of the first half, as a Christian Howard layup at the buzzer put CIU put 45-38 at the break. 

The Rams extended their lead all the way out to 18-points (77-59) with 8:05 remaining in the contest on a tip-in from Jaylon Jeter. It was the Rams' largest lead of the game as the Royals would cut the deficet down to nine before the final horn, but it was enough as CIU recorded the double-digit victory. 

The Rams were red-hot from the field, shooting 60% from the floor and 7-of-17 from three. Much of the offense's success was thanks to Skyler Mckinney, who scored 23-points, going 9-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from three. Fellow senior Jalen Brinson looked to be in midseason form scoring 20-points shooting 70% from the field, and recording seven assists. The Rams had three other players in double figures, Jaylon Jeter (15-points), Christian Howard (12-points), and Jay Pack (10-points). Junior DiAnthony Heathcock was close to a double-double with nine points and eight boards. 

What Coach Tony Stockman is saying: "Excited to start 1-0 in the conference. We got to our spots and knocked down shots tonight. We did enough defensively to get the win, and it is helpful to go 10-10 from the free-throw line. We will look to build on this heading into next week."

Up Next: The Rams travel to Milligan University (Tenn.) on Nov. 8 to take on the Buffaloes in an AAC matchup.