WINONA LAKE, Ind. - It was a historic night in the annals of CIU men's basketball history as the Rams competed in their first-ever NAIA National Championship Tournament game. As a No. 16 seed, the Rams battled the No. 1 overall seed in their portion of the bracket, Grace College (Ind.), under the bright lights of the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. The Lancers entered the postseason as the No. 4 ranked team in the NAIA Coaches' Top-25 Poll. Grace proved themselves worthy of their top ten ranking taking down CIU 101-72 to advance to the NAIA Tournament second round. 

The Lancers quickly jumped out to a 12-3 advantage in Tuesday's contest but the Rams would battle back. CIU trimmed the lead down to 26-19 on a layup from DiAnthony Heathcock with 9:17 remaining in the half. The Lancers began to pull away, however, beginning around the six-minute mark as Grace outscored CIU 20-to-13 in the final minutes of the half to lead 55-36 at the break.  

The Rams cut into the deficit on a Bryce Causey 3-pointer early in the second half to trail just 53-41. However, the rest of the half was controlled by their Lancers as they continued to pull away, ultimately collecting the double-digit victory over CIU. 

Heathcock banged inside against the substantial size of the Lancers to score 17 points and pull down eight rebounds. Heathock's frontcourt mate Christian Howard had a nice game as well, tallying 15 points. Senior Jalen Brinson was the third Ram in double-figures with ten, while both Bryce Causey and Darrian Oates scored nine points. 

What Coach Tony Stockman is saying: "I am proud of the season that our team had and the product our guys put on the court, especially during the postseason. Our players have tasted success, and hopefully, this will motivate them to build off the foundation we have been laying." 

CIU finishes the season with an 18-14 record and their fifth consecutive winning season.