St. Louis, Mo. - The 5^th-ranked Columbia College men's basketball team picked up an 81-70 win over conference foe Missouri Baptist University on Saturday night at Lacey Gymnasium. With the win, the Cougars improve to 14-1 overall and 7-0 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) while the Spartans drop to 8-6 on the year and 3-3 in league play.

With Columbia trailing 14-9 after a defensive battle between the teams, Zach Rockers and Jackson Dubinski hit back-to-back three pointers to spark a 9-0 run, putting the Cougars ahead 18-14 at the 10:13 minute mark. Four straight points by the Spartans tied the game at 18, and after trading baskets, MBU gained a 28-22 advantage with the help of a 10-2 run. Jesse Brown hit a bucket followed by a three by Travis Vogt to pull the Cougars within one and Chantel Stanciel made a layup to give Columbia a 29-28 lead with 2:14 remaining in the half. The Spartans quickly regained their advantage as Luke Call rushed down the floor to make a bucket of his own, and eventually pushed their lead to seven at 39-32 headed into the halftime break.

The Cougars struggled offensively as they shot just 35 percent from the field in the half compared to 50 percent by the Spartans. MBU's Pablo Hernandez posted 16 first half points while Vogt had nine to lead the Cougars.

The Spartans extended their lead to 10 to start the second half, but a three by Rockers and a layup by Vogt pulled the Cougars within three, making the score 42-39. MBU gained a little separation at 46-40 from there, however, Columbia didn't back down as they used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 46. A 4-0 run allowed the Spartans to regain the lead, but Columbia responded with eight consecutive points, making the score 56-50.

Preston Whitfield knocked down a three and a bucket from there to give the Cougars a ten point lead at 61-51 and eventually blew the game open with a 10-0 run, extending their advantage to 18 at 74-56 with 4:05 remaining in the game. MBU cut the Cougar lead in half with a 10-1 run capped off by a Chris Buzzell three pointer, but Columbia pushed their lead back out to double digits and held on for the 81-70 road victory.

The Cougars finished shooting 49 percent compared to 39 percent by the Spartans. Whitfield posted a career high 16 points to lead the Cougars while Rockers chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds. Vogt and Nic Reynolds also ended in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. Dubinski also handed out a game-high six assists to go along with nine points. Columbia was outrebounded by MBU 46-35, but forced 13 turnovers compared to just eight by the Cougars. The Spartans were led by Hernandez with 16 points while Buzzell and Jared White had 14 points apiece.

The Cougars will return to AMC action Thursday, January 7^th when they host 3^rd-ranked Freed-Hardeman University. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Arena of Southwell Complex.