KINGSPORT, Tenn. - CIU men's basketball faced heartbreak Thursday evening as the Rams fell to the 6-seeded Montreat (N.C.) Cavaliers 82-79 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament Quarterfinals. The Rams, who had beaten the Cavaliers in both their regular-season matchups, entered the contest as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament.

The Rams opened the game on a 6-0 run and then led by 12-4 in the early going. The scrappy Cavs hacked their way back into the game, however, before a Will Kelly triple extended the advantage back out to 28-23 (5:20). The lead was shortlived for the Rams as Montreat closed the half on a 7-2 run to lead 34-33 at the break.

The second half saw the Cavaliers steadily build a lead, holding to an 81-70 advantage with 1:01 remaining. The Rams would not go away, cutting the lead to just 81-79 with one second left on the clock. But a halfcourt heave after a Montreat made free throw for CIU missed the mark as the Rams came up 3-points short.

Christian Howard was dominant in the paint for CIU, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Fellow All-AAC performer Kelly scored 15 points on 3-of-6 shooting from deep, while Johnny Whysong posted five rebounds and 14 points.

Brandon Hunt and Jeffrey Clark, II each contributed 8 points and six rebounds, while Reid Warga had a notable outing with nine points and seven boards.

Up Next: CIU, a team that has received votes in the NAIA Coaches' Poll for nearly the entire season, holds out hope for NAIA Championship Tournament at-large bid. The NAIA Selection Show is slated for Mar. 6 at 7 p.m. CT.