COLUMBIA, S.C. - Despite successful tenures at Ohio Christian University and CIU, head men's basketball coach Tony Stockman has never taken a team to the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. That all changed on Saturday as CIU took down Bryan College (Tenn.) in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament title game, 63-58 punching their ticket to the "Big Dance". The Rams had to run the gauntlet to achieve the feat as they started in the opening round back on Wednesday and rattled off four straight to win their first-ever conference tournament championship.
On Saturday, the Rams trailed early in the contest until battling back to take a 21-20 lead on a DiAnthony Heathcock bucket inside. The Rams increased their advantage by two on a Bryce Causey layup before succumbing to a 9-2 run to close the half trailing by four 29-25 at the break.
Things looked bleak for CIU to start the second half giving up several scores to go down 34-25. However, the Rams would then outscore the Lions 15-6 over the next few minutes to knot the game at 40-40. Senior Ramiro Arrillaga then gave CIU the lead 42-40 with 11:43 remaining on a score inside. A tight game would ensue as Jalen Brinson finally created some separation with a triple to put the Rams ahead 61-52 with 1:43 remaining. Bryan would not go away, however, trimming the lead all the way down to 61-58.
The Rams wisely fouled with nine seconds left and up by three, as Bryan missed the front end of one-one. Skyler McKinney would get the rebound on the missed free throw and closed the game out with two free throws at the other end.
McKinney led CIU in scoring with 19 points going 9-for-10 from the foul line with six rebounds while being named tournament MVP. Heathcock was selected to the All-Tournament team and was the only other player in double-figures with 15 points and seven rebounds. The Rams' scoring was extremely balanced, with nine players in the scoring column. Darrian Oates chipped in nine points and seven rebounds on an unusually quiet night for him offensively. Oates was also chosen as a member of the All-Tournament team, which is his second time receiving the honor in as many seasons.
Again defense was the key for the Rams as they controlled the pace of the game. Throughout the course of the tournament, CIU's opponents have only averaged a measly 61.7 ppg per game.
What Coach Tony Stockman is saying: "This is a great accomplishment for our program. It is extremely rewarding to have a bunch of four-year guys who have put so much work into this program win a conference championship. I could not be happier for our players and coaching staff for achieving what they did today. I hope that we represent the university well on the national level and pray God will continue to use this team for His glory."
Up Next: The Rams will take part in the NAIA National Championship opening round on Mar. 7. Seedings will be announced via the NAIA Selection Show on Mar. 2 at 7:00 PM CST.
