COLUMBIA - CIU men's basketball won their fourth NCCAA South Region Tournament Championship in program history on Wednesday night, defeating Paine College (17-6) 78-68. CIU entered the evening as the No. 1 overall seed, avenging a loss that they suffered at the hands of the Lions in the semifinals of last season's South Region tourney. The win also gives CIU (20-7) its 20th victory of the season. Head coach Tony Stockman records his fourth 20-win season in seven years, and for the first time in program history, the Rams posted back-to-back 20-win seasons.

Paine tested CIU throughout the first half. The Rams trailed 22-16 (11:38), looking for an answer for the Lion's up-tempo offensive. However, CIU made several defensive changes and slowed the game down, taking a 33-31 lead into halftime after a late score from Johnny Whysong.

The game's tide completely turned six minutes into the second half when CIU exploded for a 19-0 run taking the score from a 47-46 (14:17) deficit to a 65-47 (8:25) advantage. The Lions made a surge late, but the large run proved overwhelming. Jaylon Jeter was the primary catalyst for the Rams' scoring spurt, scoring all of his 12 points in the second half.

Will Kelly led the Rams in scoring with 19 points, nine of which came from the foul line. Christian Howard poured in 16 points, while JJ Vaughan scored 11 points in just 13 minutes. Whysong stuffed the stat sheet with 12 rebounds and six points.

Up Next: The Rams will head to Point Lookout, Mo. where they will take part in the 2025 NCCAA Men's Basketball Championship hosted by College of the Ozarks, Mar. 19-22.