CLINTON, S.C. - CIU men's basketball stepped out of regular-season play on Thursday evening to take a short trip up I-26 for an NCAA Division I exhibition contest with Presbyterian College (S.C.). Fresh off a Power-5 win over Vanderbilt (Tenn.), the Blue Hose would struggle with the Rams early on but then pull away from CIU in the second half for a 100-58 win.

The Rams and Blue Hose exchanged leads through the first twelve minutes of the contest. However, CIU extended their advantage out to 15-11 (8:03) on a thunderous one-hand slam from Christian Howard. The Rams built their largest lead of the game with this momentum as a Jaylon Jeter 3-pointer put CIU up 20-12 (7:07). Presbyterian would settle in the final four minutes of the half, going on a 14-0 run to take 41-30 lead into the break. 

The Rams cut the advantage down to 45-38 at the 16:20 mark in the second half, but the Blue Hose put their foot on the gas and continued to grow their lead. Zach Everly came off the bench to score six points in the game's final 20 minutes; however, Presbyterian held the Rams offensive to just 28 second-half points to secure the double-digit win. 

Darrian Oates was the Rams' only player in double-figure scoring with ten, while Anthony Heathcock scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds. 

Up Next: The Rams host a rematch of last season's Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament Championship game as they face Bryan College (Tenn.) on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 4:00 p.m. EST.