NORTH MIAMI, Fla. — CIU men's basketball used a balanced offensive effort and a strong second-half surge to defeat the University of Fort Lauderdale 88-81 on Tuesday evening in the semifinal round of the NCCAA South Region Championship at the Scott Galvin Community Center.
With the victory, the Rams advance to Wednesday's NCCAA South Region Championship game, where they will face Paine College (Ga.) in a rematch of last season's regional title game. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET in North Miami, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCCAA National Championship Tournament.
CIU (19-10) overcame an early deficit before closing the first half on a late run. After Fort Lauderdale briefly grabbed the lead midway through the opening period, the Rams answered with a key sequence that included a three-pointer from Tristyn Carrington at the 8:05 mark to push CIU ahead 20-14. Later in the half, a jumper from JJ Vaughan with 4:35 remaining stretched the Rams' advantage, and Johnny Whysong converted a layup with two seconds left to give CIU a 33-29 lead at halftime.
The Rams extended their advantage early in the second half. A three-pointer from James Davis at 16:53 and a steal-and-layup sequence by Whysong at 16:27 helped CIU build momentum. Vaughan added a three-pointer at 14:26, and Will Kelly followed with another triple at 13:58 to give the Rams their largest lead of the night at 55-41.
Fort Lauderdale rallied midway through the half and briefly took the lead at 7:25, but CIU quickly responded. Connor Higgins scored inside to put the Rams back in front before Will Kelly drained a three-pointer with 5:55 remaining to push the lead to 68-64.
CIU sealed the game in the final minutes behind strong inside play from Whysong and Jeffrey Clark II. Whysong scored on a layup with 2:16 remaining and added a dunk with 1:42 left to extend the lead to eight, while Clark knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:19 remaining to help secure the 88-81 victory.
Kelly led the Rams with 20 points. Clark added 20 points along with seven rebounds and six assists, while Whysong recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Higgins also turned in a strong performance with 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
As a team, CIU dominated the glass with a 46-31 rebounding advantage and received 32 points from its bench in the victory.
The Rams will return to the court Wednesday afternoon when they face Paine College (Ga.) in the NCCAA South Region Championship game at 4 p.m. ET at the Scott Galvin Community Center in North Miami.
