Box Score Parkville, Mo. - The top-ranked Columbia men's basketball team defeated Park University by a score of 62-52 on the road Thursday night in a rematch of last season's American Midwest Conference (AMC) tournament championship game. With the victory, the Cougars improve to 12-1 overall on the year and 3-0 in AMC play. Thursday night's win also marked the 100^th career victory for seniors Wendell Crowder and Devin Griffin.

Columbia was held scoreless for the first two-plus minutes as the Pirates jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. Tanner Sutton got the Cougars on the board with a three-pointer at the 17:08 mark, igniting an 18-2 run by Columbia over the next five and a half minutes. Park would answer back with a 13-2 run of their own to take a brief 21-20 lead on a basket by Xavielle Brown. The Cougars used a 9-3 run to end the period for a 29-24 halftime lead. Columbia connected on 11 of 24 (46 percent) attempts from the field in the opening half, while limiting the Pirates to a 37 percent clip and one of six from behind the three-point line.

The Cougars maintained separation to start the second half and eventually stretched their lead out to ten midway through the frame. Park would make one more run over the next eight minutes and pull within two at 54-52 on a pair of free throws by Brown with 2:42 remaining. However, Columbia was able to avoid the upset bid with the help of an 8-0 run to end the contest, which included a clutch three by Crowder and five free throws from Sutton.

The Cougars turned in one of their better defensive efforts of the season, holding the Pirates to 37 percent from the floor and 3 of 13 from distance on the night. Sutton and Jeremy Nolen led Columbia with 14 points each, while Patric Massey added 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. Park was led by Brown and Denzelle Cook with 13 points each.

The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday, January 4^th to host conference opponent Lyon (Ark.) College. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.