Men's Basketball | 1/17/2017 4:28:00 PM

Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the NAIA national office announced its third regular season 2016-17 Division I Men's Basketball Top 25 Poll. After winning four straight games since the last poll was released, including wins against 25^th ranked Park (Mo.) University and 19^th ranked William Woods (Mo.) University, the Cougars have moved up three spots in the rankings to third in the NAIA.

The Cougars have been on a roll all season long and currently sit at 18-1 on the season and 11-0 in conference play. They have been solid on both sides of the ball and rank in the top 10 nationally in several categories including third in three point field goal percentage (0.427), sixth in scoring defense per game (63.632), seventh in total three point field goals made (182), and 10^th in total blocks (69). They have been beating their opponents by nearly 18 points per game and are shooting an impressive 48 percent from the field as a team.

Offensively, Columbia College currently has three players averaging in double figures including Nic Reynolds who leads the team with 13.5 points per game.  Reynolds, a junior guard out of Peoria, Illinois, has scored in double figures in all but five games this season including a season high 26 points against Central Baptist College earlier this year. In addition to Reynolds, Jackson Dubinski, the reigning AMC Player of the Week, is averaging 12.2 points per game while Preston Whitfield is averaging 10.4 points per game to round out the top scorers for Columbia College.

On the defensive end, Malik Ray has been a force to recon with on the interior. The 6-7 senior out of St. Louis, Missouri, ranks eighth in the NAIA in total blocks (33) and 10^th in blocks per game (1.737). To go along with his spectacular defense, Ray is averaging 8.6 points per game and is leading the team in rebounding with an average of 6.8 per contest.

The Cougars are back in action on Thursday, January 19^th when they play host to Central Baptist (Ark.) College in an AMC matchup. The Mustangs come into the game with an 11-5 record on the season and will look to avenge the double overtime loss they suffered to Columbia College earlier this season. The game is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.