Box Score Columbia, Mo. - The 4^th-ranked Cougar men's basketball team posted an 88-69 victory over Central Methodist University on Friday night in their first of two games in the 2013 Hampton Inn Classic. Columbia improves to 5-0 on the year with the win, their second victory over the Eagles this season.

Back-to-back threes by Jeremy Nolen sparked an 11-2 run by the Cougars to begin the first half. Central Methodist battled back to tie the score on two occasions, but Columbia would stretch its lead back out to 12 on their way to a 42-38 halftime advantage. The Cougars hit 15 of 29 attempts from the field in the opening period, led by Nolen with 11 points and Derrick Dilworth with 10. The Eagles hung around to start the second half, but an 18-5 run by Columbia allowed the Cougars to cruise to their fifth straight win as they shot 56 percent over the final 20 minutes.

The Cougars shot 54 percent on the night, while connecting on 9 of 24 attempts from three-point range. Dilworth led Columbia with 20 points to go along with 16 points each from Nolen and Devin Griffin. Gerardo Isla added a game-high nine rebounds as the Cougars finished with a 34-30 advantage on the boards. CMU's Melvin Tillman led all scorers with 28 points.

In Friday's earlier game, Baker University defeated Missouri Baptist University by a score of 78-74. Jared Fulks led the Wildcats with 20 points in the win.

Columbia will wrap up the Hampton Inn Classic tomorrow afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. matchup against Baker. The contest will follow the 1:00 p.m. game between Missouri Baptist and Central Methodist. Both games will be played at the Arena of Southwell Complex.