COLUMBIA - CIU men's basketball stayed perfect in the fledgling New Year as they moved to 13-1 on the season with a win over Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) opponent St. Andrews University (N.C.) on Tuesday. The win is CIU's 13th victory in program history over the Knights, as the Rams hold a 13-3 mark in the all-time series between the two institutions.

The Rams broke the game open in the first half after back-to-back triples from JJ Vaughan put the Rams up 36-19, giving them their largest lead of the half up to that point (6:39). The Knights would bounce back to cut the deficit to 12 at halftime (50-38).

The Knights would get as close as ten until turnovers plagued the team from Laurinburg. CIU's lead ballooned to 24 as the Rams went on a 24-4 run in the first eight minutes of the second half. Momentum would fully shift in Ram's direction as CIU went up by 30 (79-49) as Johnny Whysong caught a lob from James Davis (9:21). From there, the route was on as CIU pulled away for a 95-73 win. The evening was capped by a Connor Higgins two-hand rim rocker as every Ram who dressed Tuesday night saw the floor.

The Rams stuffed the stat sheet as Whysong led CIU in scoring with 15 points and six rebounds on 7-of-8 shooting. Christian Howard and James Davis were the other two starters in double-figures with 13 and 11, respectively.

Jeffrey Clark, II had had a double-double off the bench with 13 points and ten rebounds. Reid Warga and Jaylon Jeter were also effective off the pine as Warga grabbed 12 boards and scored nine points while Jeter tallied eight.

Up Next: CIU travels to Tennessee Wesleyan looking to avenge their lone loss of the season, which was at the hands of the Bulldogs. Tip is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 11 at 4:00 p.m. in Athens.