COLUMBIA - After hitting a late-season bump in the road, CIU men's basketball has reeled off two straight wins as the Rams cruised by Kentucky Christian University (KCU) 92-65 on Saturday. CIU (17-4, 12-4 AAC). With losses from both Pikeville (Ky.) and Bryan College (Tenn.) this week, CIU once again controls its own destiny in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). The Rams can clinch their first-ever AAC regular championship if they win their remaining four games. The Rams face both Pikveille and Bryan in those final four games.

The Rams took their first double-digit lead (29-18) of the game Saturday on a Jeffrey Clark, II triple with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half. CIU's first-half advantage ballooned to as much as 17 (35-18) on a JJ Vaughan jump shot. The Knights were able to slow the bleeding but the Rams still held a 55-40 lead at the intermission.

Three straight dunks courtesy of Will Kelly, Johnny Whysong, and James Davis widened the margin between KCU and CIU to 71-48 within the first five minutes of the second half. Davis and Clark added more clips to their highlight reels with impressive displays of athleticism on a pair of high-flying slams later in the half as the route continued with the Rams rolling to the 27-point victory.

Kelly turned in yet another superb outing as arguably the conference's best pure shooter scored 24 points on 67% shooting from the floor. Christian Howard scored 12 points in the evening, while Johnny Whysong, Clark, and Davis all scored ten points each. Whysong was a rebound shy of a double-double with nine.

14 players saw the floor for CIU on Saturday evening, with ten finding the bottom of the net.

Up Next: CIU will stay in the 803 on Wednesday as they turn their attention to Columbia College (S.C.) taking on the Koalas at their North Main Campus at 7:30 p.m. ET.