Columbia, Mo. - The Cougar men's basketball team wrapped up the 2014-15 regular season with a 71-60 home victory over league foe Benedictine University at Springfield on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars, ranked 13^th in Tuesday's latest release of the NAIA Men's Basketball Top 25 Poll, improves to 25-5 overall and 18-4 with the win.

The Bulldogs rushed out to a 6-2 lead after knocking down consecutive three-pointers in the opening minutes. The Cougars used a 9-2 run to go up 11-8, but Benedictine-Springfield scored four straight points to regain the lead at 12-11. The lead changed hands six different times from there and with the score tied at 20, Nic Reynolds drained a three-pointer to put Columbia up for good. The Bulldogs would keep things close, pulling within one with three minutes left, but the Cougars scored four points to end the half and took a 31-26 advantage into the locker room. Columbia shot 37 percent from the field in the first half, led by Chantel Stanciel with eight points.

The Bulldogs quickly erased the halftime deficit and went up 32-31 with the help of a 6-0 run. The second half played out much like the first as the lead changed seven different times in the first five minutes. With the score tied at 45, the Cougars reeled off a 12-2 run to finally gain some separation at 57-47. With 4:17 remaining in the game, Columbia pushed their lead to 15 after Jackson Dubinski and Zach Rockers hit back-to-back three-pointers. The Cougars maintained the double-digit lead and led by as many as 16 on their way to the regular season sweep.

The Cougars shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to end the night shooting 43 percent. Stanciel led Columbia with 14 points while Rockers and Dubinski chipped in 13 points apiece. Stanciel, Rockers, and John Meyer each pulled down six rebounds as the Cougars finished with a 35-33 advantage on the boards.

The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field. Benedictine-Springfields' Stephan Shepherd led all players with 16 points.

Prior to Saturday's game, Sutton, Jeremy Nolen, Eric Clark, and Colt Schneider were honored for Senior Day. Sutton was also recognized for hitting his 1000^th career point last week against William Woods University.

The Cougars will return to the hardwood to host the AMC Tournament quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed on Thursday, March 5^th. Columbia will face the winner of Tuesday's opening round game between No. 7 and No. 10 seeds. Tip-off for Thursday's game is set for 7:00 pm at the Arena of Southwell Complex.