Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the seventh ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they took on Central Christian (Mo.) College of the Bible in a nonconference matchup. The Cougars improved to 4-0 on the season after defeating the Saints by a final score of 115-66. With the win Coach Bob Burchard earned his 750th career win.
In the first half each team came out putting the ball in the bucket with ease as the Cougars led 13-12 just six minutes in. Columbia used a 16-6 run to take a 29-18 lead with just under ten minutes to go in the half. The Cougars were not having trouble finding the basket on the offensive end, but they struggled to stop the Saints on the defensive end. The Saints hung around for most of the half before the Cougars went on a 12-4 run to end the half leading 51-34. Nic Reynolds led the Cougars with 14 points in the half.
To start the second half, the Cougars forced the Saints to turn the ball over on the first possession. Columbia was starting to turn up the defensive pressure as they held the Saints to just five points in the first seven minutes of play. The Cougars held a 33 point lead with 11 minutes to go in the game. The Saints did their best to try to get themselves back in the game, but were not able to overcome Columbia as the Cougars continued to score the ball. Columbia secured their fourth win of the season with a 115-66 victory.
Hank Mathews (20), Nic Reynolds (16), Adam Mennemeyer (14), Darrick Ellis (10), and Jalen Olds (10) all recorded double-digit points for the Cougars tonight. In addition, Lucky Ogbomo pulled down 11 rebounds in the contest. Jackson Dubinski had three assists on the night which puts him in eighth place all time for career assist leaders with 296.
The Cougars are back in action on Thursday, November 16th, when they host St. Louis College of Pharmacy in their first AMC matchup of the season. The game is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
