Walnut Ridge, Ark. – This afternoon the sixth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they traveled to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, to take on the Williams Baptist (Ark.) College Eagles in an AMC matchup. The Cougars, who were able to pick up their 11th win against Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University in overtime on Thursday, improved to 12-1 on the season and 4-1 in conference play as they defeated the Eagles by a final score of 82-67.
In the first half of the game, both sides came out and exchanged baskets early in the contest. Neither side was able to gain an advantage through the first five minutes of the game but with the score tied at 11 the Cougars went on a 5-0 run to take a 16-11 lead. The Eagles battled back and were able to cut the Cougars lead to two but another quick run from Columbia propelled them to a 21-16 lead midway through the half.
The Cougars continued to push the tempo as the half progressed and knocked down their open looks as they went 13-22 from the field through the first 16 minutes of the game. They played tough defense forcing the Eagles to take difficult shots in the closing minutes of the period and took a 41-32 lead into the halftime break. Nathan Biggs finished with 10 points in the half to lead all scorers.
Columbia College came out in the second half and went on a quick 9-2 run to push their lead to 50-34 before the Eagles were forced to call a timeout. The Eagles were able to pick it up offensively over the next few minutes but could not cut into the Cougars lead as Columbia held a 64-48 advantage midway through the half. They continued to knock down their shots over the next few minutes and were able to cut Columbia's lead 12 late in the game but that was as close as they would get as the Cougars closed out the game down the stretch for their 12th win of the season.
Nathan Biggs led the way for Columbia as he finished with a game high 21 points and a team high 10 rebounds. To go along with Biggs, Nic Reynolds finished with 16 points while Jackson Dubinski and Hank Mathews both dropped in 11 to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
Columbia College is back in action on Thursday, December 28th when they play host to Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
