PIKEVILLE, Ky. - CIU men's basketball experienced the intense ups and downs that only late-season college basketball can deliver as the Rams fell to Pikeville University 75-71 on Saturday afternoon. With a win, the Rams (19-6, 14-6 AAC) would have grabbed a share of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular-season championship. The Rams will secure the No. 3 seed heading into the AAC postseason tournament because of Johnson University's (Tenn.) loss to Union Commonwealth (Ky.) this afternoon.

CIU trailed 18-9 (13:12) in the early going but stormed back to take a 29-26 (5:34) advantage on a JJ Vaughan 3-point basket. However, the Bears would edge ahead to lead at halftime 42-38.  

CIU trailed by as much as 17 in the second (59-42) but battled back to cut the lead 71-69 with 55 seconds left. Then, down three (74-71) with nine seconds on the clock, Reid Warga had a chance to tie off a missed free throw but was just off the mark as the Rams fell to the Bears.

Chrisitan Howard scored 21 points while grabbing five boards, and Will Kelly added 11 on the afternoon. Vaughan scored 12 points off the bench for the Rams on four 3-pointers. Warga poured in nine points, and Brandon Hunt led CIU in rebounding with eight to go along with five boards.

Up Next: CIU will head to the AAC tournament on Feb. 26 - Mar. 1 in Kingsport, Tenn., as the No. 3 overall seed.