COLUMBIA - DiAnthony Heath scored his 1,000th career point in the waning moments of the second half as CIU men's basketball upended Truett McConnell (Ga.) 88-74 to stay undefeated in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) play. Heathcock becomes the third player under Head Coach Tony Stockman to have played their entire collegiate career for the Rams and score 1,000 career points.

The Rams opened up a ten-point lead, 30-20, midway through the first half on a bucket and the foul courtesy of Darrian Oates. Two more finishes from Oates helped the Rams go up by as much as 17 points (41-24) with 4:29 left. CIU continued to increase the lead and was halfway to the century mark at the intermission, up 51-32. 

The game's final 20 minutes was more of the same, with a Heathcock triple putting CIU up 62-40 (15:34). The Rams struggled not to foul, which allowed the Bears to cut the deficit down to 83-71 with 1:40 remaining in the contest. However, the Rams stayed solid defensively and made free throws down the stretch to improve to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in conference action. 

Heathcock led the Rams with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds. Oates kept the defense baffled for much of the evening, shooting 70% from the field with 17 points. Bryce Cause was the other Ram in double-figures with ten points, five rebounds, and two assists. 

Veteran guard Jalen Brinson handed out five assists and tallied eight points.

Notable performances also came from newcomers Johnny Whysong and Brandon Hunt. Hunt went a perfect 3-for-3 on the evening with six points, while Whysong secured six points and eight rebounds. 

CIU had 11 different players find the bottom of the net on Thursday while shooting an impressive 55% from the field for the game. 

Hear from DiAnthony Heathcock postgame:

Up Next: The Rams make the long trek to Athens,Tenn., on Saturday, Nov. 18, to face the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan at 4:00 p.m. EST.