Box Score Columbia, Mo. - The 4^th-ranked Cougar men's basketball team secured a spot in Tuesday's American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Championship game with a thrilling 66-65 victory over Park University in the tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Columbia, the conference regular season champions and No. 1 seed in the tournament, improves to 30-2 on the year and has won 14 straight games dating back to January 23^rd.

The Cougars and Pirates battled back and forth through the first nine minutes of the opening half and were tied 14-14 at the 10:53 mark. Columbia went on an 8-0 run during the next two minutes, but Park answered back quickly to cut the Cougar lead to 22-19. Columbia would outscore the Pirates 13-5 over the remainder of the half, highlighted by a put-back dunk by Patric Massey, for a 35-24 halftime advantage. Columbia shot 47 percent from the field and also owned a 22-11 rebounding advantage in the period.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Cougars stretched their lead out to 42-24 on back-to-back layups by Massey and a three-pointer by Jeremy Nolen. Park began to mount their comeback from there with the help of a 10-1 run over the next two minutes. Columbia would go back up by 13 with 13:37 to play, but the Pirates continued to fight back as Marcus Johnson knocked down a trio of three-pointers to tie the score at 55 at the 6:40 mark.

Park took their first lead since early in the first half on a free throw by Denzelle Cook less than a minute later and went up 61-57 after another three by Johnson and a basket by Xavielle Brown. The Cougars would force two crucial turnovers on consecutive Pirate possessions as they battled back to tie the score at 63 with 1:03 to go in regulation. After two free throws by Brown for a 65-63 Park lead, Devin Griffin was able to draw a foul on his way to the hoop and hit both attempts from the stripe to even the score at 65. The Columbia defense picked up their pressure on the following possession and forced a shot clock violation to get the ball back with 12.1 seconds remaining. The Cougars turned to Griffin on the final possession as the senior attacked the lane once again and drew a foul with 2.3 seconds left. After missing his first attempt, Griffin converted the second for a 66-65 lead and Nigel Van Oostrum's last second heave fell short to preserve the dramatic victory.

Columbia finished the game 38 percent from the field after being held to 7 of 26 in the final period. Massey led three Cougars in double figures with a season-high 20 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Griffin had 16 points on 11 of 14 shooting from the free throw line and Nolen added 12 points and seven boards. Columbia also dominated on the glass with 14 offensive rebounds and a 41-27 advantage overall.

Park shot slightly better at just under 40 percent, including 7 for 16 from three, and was led by Denzelle Cook with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

Columbia will host 8^th-ranked Freed-Hardeman University (27-4), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, in the AMC Championship Game on Tuesday, March 11^th. The Lions defeated Benedictine-Springfield 118-86 in Saturday's other semifinal matchup. Both squads have already clinched a bid to the NAIA National Tournament based on their finish in the regular season standings. Columbia and Freed-Hardeman split their two regular season meetings, with each team winning on their home court. The Cougars overcame a double-digit deficit for a 93-82 win back on February 22^nd after falling 80-65 at Freed-Hardeman on January 18^th. Tip-off for Tuesday's showdown is scheduled for 7:00 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.