Batesville, Ark. - The Cougar men's basketball team dropped their first contest of the season tonight after falling to Lyon College 77-68 on the road. Columbia, ranked No. 7 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Poll, falls to 9-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play with the loss while the Scots improve to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in league play.

With the score tied at 17, the Scots used a 22-2 run to take a 39-19 lead with a little under four minutes to play in the first half. Lyon would extend their lead out to 23 on their way to a 47-24 advantage at the halftime break. The Scots shot an outstanding 72 percent (18-25) from the field, 62 percent (5-8) from behind the arc, and 100 percent (6-6) from the charity stripe while holding the Cougars to 39 percent from the floor.

Columbia quickly cut the halftime deficit with the help of a 14-4 run to begin the second half, after a field goal by Malik Ray at the 11:16 mark to make it 51-38. However, the Scots stretched their lead back out to 23 at the 7:14 minute mark with the help of a 12-2 run. The Cougars would come within six after a 17-0 run, and pull within five with 1:16 left to play, but that would be the closest that they would come. The Scots took control during the remainder of regulation to capture the 77-68 victory.

Columbia hit 23 of 58 attempts (40 percent) from the field on the night, led by a team-high 15 points from Tanner Sutton to go along with 13 points from Nic Reynolds. Jeremy Nolen added 10 points while Chantel Stanciel finished with a team-high seven rebounds and a season-high six assists. Lyon's Ben Worlow led all scorers with 36 points.

The Cougars will travel to AMC foe Freed-Hardeman University for their next game on Saturday, December 6^th. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 pm in Henderson, Tenn.