Little Rock, Ark. – The Cougar men's basketball team couldn't hold on for a win this afternoon as Philander Smith College broke their 12 game winning streak with a 72-69 victory at Mims Gymnasium. Columbia, the 5^th ranked team in the NAIA, falls to 12-1 on the season while the Panthers improve to 7-6 overall with the win.

Columbia used a 6-0 run to open the game and led 20-11 on a three by Nic Reynolds at the 14:49 minute mark. Zach Rockers drained a three to give Columbia their biggest advantage of the half at 32-20, but the Panthers scored eight straight points from there to cut the deficit to four at 32-28, forcing Columbia to call a timeout.

The timeout proved to be helpful as the Cougars extended their lead back out to double digits on a three pointer and jump shot by Reynolds and would carried a 47-36 advantage into the halftime break.
Columbia shot 63 percent from the floor behind 16 first half points from Reynolds while Philander Smith finished the half shooting 40 percent from the field.

The Panthers put together a 13-0 run coming out of the break to make it a one point game at 49-48, causing another Cougar timeout. Reynolds drained a three from the right wing after the timeout to gain a little separation, but Philander Smith continued to hang around and eventually pulled back within one at 60-59 with 8:41 left to play. Travis Vogt answered with a three pointer and one made free throw to make the score 64-59, but the Panthers came roaring back to cut the deficit to one again at 64-63 and eventually tied the game at 65 with 3:16 remaining.

A made layup and field goal by Chantel Stanciel gave Columbia a 69-65 lead at the 1:01 mark, however, Philander Smith's Chris Ward responded by converted the three point play to make it 69-68. The Cougars tried to work the clock down from there, but the Panthers would get the big defensive stop and rush down the floor to hit a jumper out of the corner while also picking up the foul. After hitting both free throws, the Panthers would pull ahead 72-69 with 1.2 seconds left on the clock. With one last chance, the Cougars tried to launch the ball down the court, but Philander Smith would intercept to hold on for the win.

Columbia finished the afternoon shooting 47 percent from the field while limiting the home team to a 42 percent clip. Columbia had a tough day from the charity stripe, shooting just 57 percent (16-28) and made 7-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc.

Reynolds tied his career high with 24 points, draining 4-of-7 threes and 8-of-9 free throws. Vogt chipped in 15 points while Stanciel finished with 13 points to go along with three assists. Columbia held a 39-34 advantage on the boards with Zach Rockers pulling down six to lead the Cougars. Philander Smith was led by Ward, Rashad Brackeen and Ronald March with 17 points.

The Cougars will host the Panthers for their next game on Wednesday, December 30^th. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m. at the Arena of Southwell Complex.