Columbia, Mo. - The Cougar men's basketball team picked up an 78-54 victory over conference foe Park University on Tuesday night at the Arena of Southwell Complex. With the win, Columbia improves to 13-3 overall and 6-2 in American Midwest Conference (AMC) action while the Pirates fall to 4-6 on the season and 3-3 in AMC play.

The Cougars built a double-digit lead midway through the first period as Nic Reynolds knocked down a pair of threes to put Columbia up 24-12 at the 10:10 mark. Columbia would maintain the lead over the remainder of the half and take a 44-24 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Cougars outrebounded the Pirates 23-17 in the opening period, while shooting 50 percent from the field and holding Park to a 30 percent clip. Zach Rockers led all players with 19 points and nine rebounds in the first half.

The Cougars would extend their lead out to 28 to start the second half, after a dunk by John Meyer put them up 58-30 at the 16:22 mark. Columbia continued to control the game from that point on and led by as many as 36 on their way to the victory.

Columbia shot 45 percent in the final period to finish at 48 percent on the night, led by Rockers with a season-high 23 points while also pulling down a career high 10 rebounds. Reynolds added 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting from the field. Freddie Manyawu had 18 points to lead the Pirates, who were held to 33 percent from the floor on the night.

The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday, January 10^th when they host AMC opponent Missouri Baptist University. Game time is set for 4:00 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.