COLUMBIA, S.C. - Coming off a solid win over Kentucky Christian on Monday, CIU men's basketball hoped to make it two in a row on Thursday night as they hosted Truett McConnell (Ga.). However, CIU (13-9, 9-8 AAC) once again learned that nothing comes easy in the Appalachian Atheltic Conference (AAC) as they fell to TMU (16-8, 12-7 AAC) by a score of 71-63. 

After both teams traded baskets early in the contest, TMU extended a lead out to 16-8, with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. The Bears led all the way until the 4:08 mark, when Jaylon Jeter would give the Rams their first lead of the game (27-26) on a short jumper. Then in the waning moments of the half Skyler McKinney found the bottom of the net on a contested floater as the first-half buzzer sounded. CIU took a 34-32 lead into the break, with Jeter leading the Rams in scoring with 10 points.

After relinquishing the advantage early in the second half, the Rams got back in front and extended their lead to 49-45 on a Christian Howard layup. However, the tide would turn as CIU found themselves trailing by as much as eight (61-53) with five minutes left in the game. The Rams trimmed the Bear's lead down to 63-59 at the 2:14 mark, but a chance at a comeback slipped from CIU's grasp in the game's final moments as the Bears went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line down the stretch. 

It was a freshman-led effort by CIU as first-year big man Christian Howard scored 18 points on 9-of-13, shooting in just 19 minutes of action for CIU. Fellow freshman Jayln Jeter reached double-figures with 12 points as he knocked down two 3-pointers. 

Despite struggling from the field, junior Skyler McKinney still had an impactful evening with ten points and seven rebounds. In addition, upperclassman guard Jalen Brinson continued to find creative ways to get his teammates the ball as the junior dished out six assists. 

What Coach Tony Stockman is saying:

"Hard-fought game tonight. Hats off to TMU for playing hard the entire game. It was great to see our two freshmen [Jaylon Jeter and Christian Howard] have good nights in a game that had a postseason feel to it we just needed a little bit more from our upperclassmen if we were going to get the win."

Up next:

CIU heads to Reinhardt University (Ga.) for a 4 PM matchup with the Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 5, in Waleska.