Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the seventh ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they played host to the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Eutectics in their first conference game of the season. The Cougars, who won their 13th AMC regular season title with a 19-3 record in conference play last season, were able to start their AMC schedule out on a high note as they defeated the Eutectics by a final score of 102-64 to improve to 5-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
In the first half of the game, both sides came out and exchanged baskets early. With the score tied at 17 nine minutes into the game, the Cougars were able to use a 5-0 run and held a 22-17 lead midway through the half. Columbia College continued to play well down the stretch of the half and forced the Eutectics to take tough shots as they increased their lead to 16 with five minutes remaining in the period. St. Louis College of Pharmacy made a run back at the Cougars late in the half but Columbia College was able to hold them off and took an 18 point lead into the locker room. Steven Holloway led the Cougars with 10 points in the half.
The Eutectics came out in the second half and went on a 6-1 run to cut Columbia Colleges lead to 13 with 17 minutes remaining in the game. Despite letting St. Louis College of Pharmacy get back into the contest, the Cougars were able to pick it up defensively as the half progressed and stretched their lead back to 27. The Eutectics did their best to get back into the game down the final stretch of the contest but were unable to cut into Columbia's lead as the Cougars cruised to their first conference win of the season.
Steven Holloway led the way for Columbia as he finished with a career high 17 points. To go along with Holloway, Adam Mennemeyer dropped in 16 points, Jackson Dubinski added 14 points, and Preston Whitfield finished with 13 points to lead the Cougars offensively. Lucky Ogbomo finished with a team high 10 rebounds.
The Cougars are back in action on Tuesday, November 16th when they play host to the Missouri Valley College Vikings in a non-conference matchup. The game is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
