Box Score Columbia, Mo. - The 4^th-ranked Cougar men's basketball team closed out the 2013 Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic with a 105-71 victory over Baker (Kan.) University on Saturday afternoon at the Arena of Southwell Complex. With the win, Columbia improves to 6-0 on the year and has won 42 straight regular season games dating back to 2011-12.

The Cougars built an early 12-2 lead with the help of back-to-back three-pointers by Tanner Sutton and Derrick Dilworth in the opening minutes. The Wildcats battled back to take a brief 24-23 advantage, but Columbia would regain the lead for good on a basket by Patric Massey and outscore Baker 27-13 over the remainder of the first half. The Cougars hit 20 of 37 attempts from the field in the period, led by 14 points from Derrick Dilworth and 13 points off the bench from Devin Griffin. Coming out of the halftime break, the Wildcats cut the Columbia lead to single digits at 56-47 with 15:23 to play. However, the Cougars extended their lead back out to 15 on back-to-back threes by Wendell Crowder with 12 minutes remaining. Columbia would lead by double-digits the rest of the way as they capped off their fifth victory by double-digits this year.

The Cougars finished at 57 percent (38 of 67) from the field for the game, led by Griffin with 23 points and Dilworth with 21. Massey (13), Crowder (12), and Malik Ray (11) also finished in double figures, with Massey adding a team-high six rebounds.

In Saturday's earlier game, Central Methodist University defeated Missouri Baptist University by a score of 82-68. CMU's Melvin Tillman had 18 points to lead all scorers. He was named to the All-Classic Team along with Dilworth & Griffin from Columbia, Baker's E.J. Carter & Jared Fulks, and Kalvin Lewis from Missouri Baptist. Dilworth was also named the Classic's most valuable player.

The Cougars will travel to William Woods University on Thursday, December 5^th for their American Midwest Conference (AMC) opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm in Fulton, Mo. and will follow the Columbia-William Woods women's game.