LAURINBURG, N.C. - CIU men's basketball moved back into the win column Wednesday night and swept the season series with St. Andrews (N.C.) as they got past the Knights 76-62. The Rams (15-3, 10-3 AAC) are still receiving votes in the most recent NAIA Coaches' Top 25' Poll and are in the hunt still for the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season title and an auto-bid to the NAIA Championship Tournament.

CIU led for much of the early going but was unable to shake a feisty Knights team. The Rams saw their lead slip away at the 4:00 minute mark as St. Andrews grabbed a 25-23 advantage. However, seven points from Christian Howard before the break helped CIU distance themselves as they led 33-28 at halftime.

The Rams' first double-digit lead came within the second half's first five minutes as Johnny Whysong put CIU up 43-32 (15:44). The Knights cut the deficit down to just three, 55-52 (9:18), but Jeffrey Clark, II brought a spark off the bench with a handful of quick scores including a slam to put the Rams back up seven. The Ram's largest lead of the contest came at 2:47 (70-56), which would prove to be CIU's margin of victory, as the Rams glided to the 14-point win, 76-62.

Whysong scored 18 points and grabbed 11 boards for a double on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. Howard posted a double-double of his own with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Will Kelly rounded out the Rams' scoring with 14 points.

Reid Warga scored nine points off the bench for CIU, shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor.

Despite coughing up the rock 14 times, the Rams had 17 assists.

Up Next: CIU hits the road heading to Milligan (Tenn.). to take on the Buffs at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.