Columbia, Mo. - The Cougar men's basketball team maintained their No. 6 ranking in Tuesday's latest release of the NAIA Top 25 Poll. Cal State San Marcos (21-1) earned sole possession of the top spot in this week's poll after Co-No. 1 Freed-Hardeman (18-1) was upset by Lindenwood-Belleville on Thursday and fell to No. 3. Pikeville (Ky.) moved up to second in the poll, followed by SAGU (Texas) and William Carey (Miss.) at No. 4 and 5 respectively.

Columbia (20-2) defeated conference opponents William Woods and Harris-Stowe last week to improve to 11-1 in the American Midwest Conference. The Cougars are currently one game back of Freed-Hardeman in the AMC standings but will host the Lions on Saturday, February 22^nd. Senior Devin Griffin averaged 22.0 points per game to lead Columbia in the two wins, with Jeremy Nolen (17.0 points, 8.5 rebounds) and Patric Massey (11.0 points, 10.0 rebounds) leading the Cougar frontcourt.

The Cougars will look for their fifth straight win on Thursday night when they host league foe Park University (10-8, 8-3 AMC). Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex. Columbia will finish out the week on the road at Lyon College (9-12, 8-3) on Saturday afternoon, with tip-off scheduled for 4:00 pm in Batesville, Ark.