COLUMBIA - CIU men's basketball kept their Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular-season title hopes alive Thursday as they rolled over Bluefield (Va.) 89-76 on Senior Night. The Rams are now 19-5 on the year and 14-5 in the AAC. The Rams will have to defeat Pikeville University (Ky.) on Saturday to gain a share of the conference's regular season championship.

The first half of Thursday's contest was highlighted by excellent shooting from Will Kelly, who knocked down five first-half triples on his way to 18 first-half points. CIU led Pikeville (Ky.) 55-27 at the break.

Johnny Whysong was a spark for the Rams in the second half, scoring eight points and helping CIU hold a 20-point advantage (70-50) with a dunk at the 10:29 mark. Bluefield would cut the advantage down to just 11 78-67 with just over two minutes remaining. A Brandon Hunt 3-pointer extended the game out of Bluefield's reach (86-69) as the Rams won their final home game of the regular season.

Kelly led the way with 20 points despite only scoring two in the second half. Christian Howard and JJ Vaughan each scored 14 points, while Hunt added 10 points and posted six rebounds. Whysong scored eight points all in the second half while pulling down six rebounds.

CIU distributed the ball well, with 18 assists on the evening.

Up Next: CIU will play Pikeville to earn a share of the AAC regular-season title on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 4:00 p.m. ET in Pikeville, Ky.