Box Score Walnut Ridge, Ark. - The Columbia men's basketball team overcame a second half deficit to defeat American Midwest Conference (AMC) opponent Williams Baptist College by a score of 77-72 on the road Thursday night. The Cougars, ranked third in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, improve to 14-1 overall and 5-0 in the AMC with the win.

Columbia jumped out to an 11-2 lead after just over three minutes of play, but the Eagles responded with an 8-0 run and the two squads would go back and forth over the remainder of the first period. The Cougars took a 35-34 advantage into the halftime break after shooting 52 percent from the field in opening half, compared to 43 percent for Williams Baptist.

The Eagles took their first lead of the game to begin the second half and stretched their lead out to seven at 52-45 with 11:14 to play in the contest. Columbia battled back to the score at 61 on a three-pointer by Malik Ray at the 6:47 mark. The teams would trade baskets over the next two minutes, with Ray knocking down his third three-pointer of the night for a 68-67 Cougar lead. After a basket by Patric Massey, Williams Baptist tied the score at 70 on a three by E.J. Rucker with three minutes remaining in regulation. Back-to-back field goals by Devin Griffin put Columbia up 74-71 and Tanner Sutton added a pair of free throws in the final minute to put the game away.

Ray finished with a career-high 17 points to lead the Cougars, who finished at 50 percent (26 of 52) from the field and 8 of 15 from three-point range on the night. Griffin and Jeremy Nolen chipped in 14 and 13 points respectively, and Massey and Gerardo Isla rounded out the Columbia players in double figures with 10 each.

The Cougars will be back on the road on Saturday, January 11^th to take on conference foe Hannibal-LaGrange University. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 pm in Hannibal, Mo.