Columbia, Mo. –The longest active home winning streak in the NAIA was snapped last night as 6^th ranked Benedictine College defeated the Cougars 82-80.  Columbia had not lost in the Arena of Southwell complex since December 30^th of 2011, winning an amazing 58 straight home games.  Columbia College falls to 9-3 on the season, while the Ravens improve to 10-3 overall.

The two teams battled back and forth to an 8-8 tie through the opening minutes of the first period as Chantel Stanciel scored eight early points for Columbia. From there the Cougars reeled off 14-3 run to grab the 22-11 lead. The Cougars led by as many as 8 midway through the frame, but a 15-8 run by the Ravens tied the game at 29 with 5:07 to play in the opening period. The two squads went back and forth over the remainder of the half, with Columbia taking a 42-36 halftime lead after Stanciel hit a last second three pointer. The Cougars hit 14 of 22 attempts (67 percent) from the field and drained 7 of 11 attempts (64 percent) from behind the arc in the first period while holding Benedictine to a 50 percent clip. Stanciel led both teams in scoring with 15 points after going 3-3 from three point range.

The Ravens quickly erased the halftime deficit with the help of a 7-2 run to begin the second half, taking their first lead of the contest at 49-48. The Cougars would mount a run of their own and extended their lead back out to ten with 10:25 remaining, but the Ravens continued to hang around and used a 10-1 run to tie the game at 65 at the 7:53 mark. After both squads traded baskets over the next five minutes, Benedictine called a time out with the contest tied at 74 with just under 2 minutes to play. The Ravens then scored seven straight points to take their largest lead of the game at 81-74 with 34 seconds left on the clock. The two team missed and made a free-throw, followed by a Zach Rockers three-point field goal with 16 second left to cut the Cougar's deficit to two. Columbia was forced to foul, sending Jonathan Anaekwe to the line where he made one of two free throws. Stanciel was immediately fouled and converted both free throws putting Columbia within one. The Cougars committed a desperation foul with seven second left in regulation, sending John Harris Jr. to the line where he made one of two attempts to put the game away at 82-80. Columbia had a chance to win the game on their final possession, but Rockers' three-pointer would hit the inside rim and bounce out.

The Cougars hit 24 of 44 attempts (55 percent) from the field on the night and had four players in double figures, led by a career high 23 points from Tanner Sutton. Stanciel also ended the night with a career high with 22 points while Rockers chipped in 14 points. John Meyer rounded out the double-digit scoring with a season-high ten points while Vogt matched his career high with seven rebounds. Jake Schannuth had 16 points for the Ravens, who shot 62 percent (29 of 47) on the night.

Columbia will travel to Belleville, Ill., Saturday, December 20^th to face off against AMC opponent Lindenwood University-Belleville. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.