Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the sixth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they played host to the 25^th ranked Park (Mo.) University Pirates in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were able to defeat the Pirates by a final score of 89-73 and improved their record to 17-1 on the season.

The Cougars got off to a slow start in the first half as the Pirates were able to jump out to an early 20-9 lead after knocking down five three pointers in the first seven minutes of the game. Columbia College struggled to find the opening's in Park's tough zone defense and were forced to take difficult shots through most of the first half. However, with the Pirates leading by 12 points with just under nine minutes remaining in the period, the Cougars offense came alive as they knocked down their next four shots, including three shots from behind the arc, to cut the Pirates lead down to three.

Columbia College continued to push the tempo down the final stretch of the first half and were finally able to tie the game at 36 with two and a half minutes remaining in the period. They moved the ball well on the offensive end of the floor and were able to close out the half on a 5-1 run to take a 41-37 lead into the break. The Cougars were led by Nic Reynolds who finished the half with a team high 12 points after going 4-5 from behind the arc.

Despite Columbia having all the momentum, the Pirates came out of halftime and started the half on an 8-4 run to tie the game at 45. However, the Cougars responded in dominant fashion and went on a 22-2 run of their own to take a 20 point lead midway through the half. The Pirates did their best to get back into the game and were able to cut the Cougars lead down to 11 but that was as close as they would get as Columbia was able to close out the game and extend their winning streak to 11 straight.

The Cougars had five players finish in double figures tonight including Jackson Dubinski who finished with a team high 17 points and matched his career high with seven rebounds. In addition, Hank Mathews and Preston Whitfield both had 11 points, Malik Ray finished with 15 points, and Nic Reynolds dropped in 14 points to round out the top performers for Columbia.

Due to icy weather predictions in the Midwest, Columbia College's basketball games scheduled for Saturday, January 14th at William Woods (Mo.) University have been postponed. The date and time for the games have yet to be announced but check back in the future for updates.