CIU Athletics
Gordie Frierson, Sports Information Director
COLUMBIA, S.C. – After taking down the Appalachian Athletic Conference preseason favorite Union College on Tuesday night, the CIU Men’s Basketball team knocked off 2019-2020 AAC runner-up Montreat College on Thursday evening. The win did not come easy as it took overtime to decide a winner, but the Rams scraped their way to 118-115 victory over the Cavaliers. The win moves the Rams to 3-0 on the young season as Montreat drops to 0-3 on the year.
First Half CIU 58, MC 53: Brandon Doss and Skyler McKinney were both hot early on for CIU. Doss hit a triple 3:00 minutes into the half and then poked the ball away from Montreat, leading to a fast break and-one to give CIU the 14-8 lead. The defense was scarce at best in the first half as scoring came in waves for both teams. Late in the half, with the Rams only leading by one, Skyler McKinney hit back to back threes to extend the Rams advantage. The Rams led by as much as 58-50 after a Corey Benton deep ball with 0:47 left in the first. The Rams took a 58-53 advantage into halftime behind 11 of 18 shooting from deep and 15 points from Doss, and 16 points from McKinney.
Second Half CIU 100, MC 100: The Cavaliers outplayed the Rams in the first portion of the second, going on a 32-11 run to pull away 85-69 with 8:31 remaining. However, behind the veteran leadership and offensive prowess of Corey Bentonand junior Eric Graham, CIU battled their way back to cut the deficit to 95-89 just under the 3:00 minute mark. CIU then turned to transfer junior Thomas Woods, who came off the bench and drilled a three to bring the Rams within a possession, 95-92. However, with 0:31 remaining, CIU trailed 100-97. Fortunately for the Rams, senior Corey Bentoncame in clutch as he often has in the past, hitting an improbable tying three-point shot over a Montreat defender to tie the game and ultimately send it into overtime.
Overtime: CIU 118, MC 115: Eric Graham started the extra period with a triple to give CIU the early overtime lead. CIU then clung to a 114-112 advantage with just over a minute remaining. The ball would once again find its way to the hands of Benton, who calmly drilled a three-pointer from well beyond the arc to seal the game for the Rams.
“What a roller coaster of a game!” head coach Stockton said. “I am proud of how our guys didn’t give up.
“Some of the returners stepped up big and had some pride in our basketball program and our home court. Thomas [Woods] was huge for us. He came in at the end after sitting most of the game and made some game-winning plays. I am extremely happy for him.”
Two days after scoring his 1,000th point, Corey Benton scored a career-high of 34 points. Benton’s 34 points are the second-most in a game in CIU history. Benton also had 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
Reigning AAC Freshman of the Year Skyler McKinney had his best offensive performance of the season with 24 points shooting an outstanding 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Brandon Doss had another double-figure night as the junior scored 15 points all coming in the first half, while his junior counterpart Eric Graham had 19 points shooting 4 of 7 from deep.
Scoring was not an issue for either team as Montreat shot 53 percent from the field and the Rams shot 52% from the field. CIU also made a season-high of 19 threes going 48 percent from beyond the arc.
The Rams look to continue their undefeated streak at home against Point University on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 PM.