NORTH MIAMI, Fla. — Columbia International University captured the NCCAA South Region Championship on Wednesday afternoon, defeating Paine College (Ga.) 83–68 at the Scott Galvin Community Center.

The victory marks CIU's second consecutive South Region title over Paine and the fifth regional championship of head coach Tony Stockman's tenure.

The Rams set the tone late in the first half, closing on a strong run to take a 45–32 lead into the break. Jackson Inman scored on a layup with 35 seconds remaining in the half, and James Davis added a layup at the buzzer to push the advantage to double digits.

CIU continued to build separation early in the second half. A layup from Jeffrey Clark, II at 18:40 and a basket from Johnny Whysong at 18:15 stretched the lead to 49–34. Moments later, Will Kelly knocked down a three-pointer at the 17:49 mark to give the Rams their largest lead of the game at 17 points.

Paine attempted to rally midway through the half, trimming the deficit to four with 8:26 remaining. CIU responded with a key stretch that included a jumper and two free throws from Davis, followed by a JJ Vaughan three-pointer at 6:07 that pushed the lead back to double digits.

The Rams sealed the championship in the final minutes behind Vaughan's perimeter shooting and strong interior play. Vaughan hit consecutive three-pointers at 4:02 and 2:57, while Connor Higgins added a dunk with 41 seconds remaining to cap the 83–68 victory.

Kelly led CIU with 20 points, while Vaughan added 18 points off the bench, knocking down five three-pointers. Clark II finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Davis added 10 points and six assists. Whysong  contributed eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds as the Rams dominated the glass 43–30.

With the win, CIU improves to 20–10 on the season and now awaits its seeding for the NCCAA National Championship Tournament, which begins Wednesday, March 18 in Point Lookout, Mo.