COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU head men's basketball coach Tony Stockman could not have asked for a better start to 2023 as his squad eclipsed the century mark for the first time this season, blowing by Truett McConnell (Ga.) 109-74 on Tuesday. The win is the largest margin of victory by either team all-time in their 15-game series history; however, historical records are still on the side of the Bears as they hold a 10-to-5 advantage in matchups with CIU. The win moves CIU to 6-7 overall and 5-5 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) as the Rams sit in the middle of a traffic jam in the AAC standings. 

A tight game in the early going, the Rams opened up Tuesday's contest in the final ten minutes of the second half. Leading 24-21 at the 10:43 mark CIU outscored the Bears 33-to-13 before the first-half horn sounded. Skyler McKinney played his best half of basketball thus far this season, scoring 18 points and going 4-of-4 from deep in the game's first 20 minutes. 

The lead ballooned to 30 (80-50) on two DiAnthony Heathcock free throws with 12:05 remaining. A James Davis' jumper with just under three minutes left gave CIU a hundred or more points for the first time this season as the freshman put the Rams up 101-67.  13 different players saw the floor for the Rams on the evening as CIU pulled out the 35-point victory. 

CIU's offensive performance was arguably their best in the program's NAIA era as the Rams were two 3-pointers shy of the program single-game record as they shot 17-of-27 (63%) from beyond the arc. CIU also saw their best offensive outings from their bench as the Rams scored 38 points as a team off of the pine.

However, CIU's veterans still made the greatest impact as McKinney scored a season-high of 30 points knocking down six threes. The Rams had four other players in double-figures. Notably, Jalen Brinson scored 11 points and recorded eight assists, Heathcock collected 12 points and eight rebounds, while Darrian Oates scored 13 and dished out five assists. Davis scored his career-high off the bench with ten. 

What Coach Tony Stockman is saying: "Hats off to our guys for shooting the ball the way they did tonight. It can be easy to be sluggish coming off Christmas break, but we executed well against a talented Truett team. Hopefully, this gives our team some confidence and sets the tone for the second portion of the season."

Up Next: The Rams are on the road with a rematch versus Kentucky Christian on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7:30 PM.