COLUMBIA, S.C. — CIU men's basketball secured the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season runner-up finish Saturday afternoon with a 110–89 win over Milligan at the Moore Fitness Center.

The Rams closed the regular season 18–9 overall and 13–6 in AAC play and will enter the conference tournament in Kingsport, Tenn., as the No. 2 overall seed.

CIU set the tone early, jumping out to a 9–2 lead in the opening minutes behind a pair of Johnny Whysong layups and a James Davis three-pointer. Milligan briefly tied the game at 34–34 with 3:29 left in the first half, but the Rams answered with a late push capped by a Whysong layup in the final seconds to take a 42–39 halftime lead.

The second half belonged to CIU. Will Kelly's three-pointer at 17:03 sparked a run that stretched the advantage to double digits, and the Rams continued to pull away with balanced scoring and efficient shooting. A JJ Vaughan three at 12:59 pushed the lead to 64–51, and a sequence of transition baskets midway through the period extended the margin to 16. CIU later built its largest lead of the game at 23 with 2:38 remaining.

Kelly led the Rams with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting and went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. Whysong filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists, while James Davis added 15 points and seven boards. JJ Vaughan scored 20 points off the bench, and Jackson Inman contributed 11 as CIU shot 57.7 percent from the field and 91.3 percent from the free-throw line.

The Rams totaled 24 assists on 41 made baskets and scored 60 points in the paint while forcing 12 turnovers.

CIU currently holds an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament as the AAC runner-up but would lose the bid if neither the Rams nor top-seeded Pikeville wins the conference tournament championship.

CIU now turns its attention to the AAC Tournament in Kingsport, where the Rams will look to build on their regular-season finish.