Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the sixth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they played host to the Avila (Mo.) University Eagles in a nonconference matchup. The Cougars, who were defeated on Saturday for their first loss of the season, were able to bounce back tonight as they took down the Eagles by a final score of 84-77 to improve to 10-1 on the season.
Columbia College came out in the first half and had a tough time scoring the ball to start the game. They were finally able to get their first basket three minutes into the game and held an 8-6 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the half. Avila bounced back quickly and were able to regain the lead on their next possession then went on a 9-4 run to take an 18-12 lead midway through the half. Columbia College responded with a 7-0 run of their own, but a 10-4 run from the Eagles gave them a 29-22 lead with five minutes left in the period. Despite being down, the Cougars never let the Eagles get to far ahead and were able to tie the score at 39 heading into the halftime break. Jackson Dubinski led all scorers with 12 points in the half.
In the second half of the game, Columbia College came out of the locker room and were able to use a 7-4 run to take a 47-43 lead with 18 minutes to go in the game. The score remained close for the next few minutes of the contest but an 11-0 run from the Eagles gave them a 54-47 advantage six minutes into the half. The Cougars picked it up as the half progressed and were able to claw their way back into the lead following an 11-3 run midway through the period. Neither side was able to gain an advantage over the next few minutes of the game but Columbia College held a 74-71 lead with just under three minutes to play in the contest. The Cougars were able to push their lead to six on their next possession and never looked back as they closed out Avila down the stretch to pick up their 10th win of the season.
Columbia College was led by Nathan Biggs who finished with a game high 19 points in the contest. To go along with Biggs, Jackson Dubinski dropped in 16 points, Adam Mennemeyer finished with a team high seven rebounds, and Steven Holloway finished with a game high five assists. In addition, Nic Reynolds finished with 13 points putting his career total at 1,336 which is tied with Kyle Thoma for eighth all-time in program history.
The Cougars are back in action on Thursday, December 14th when they travel to Henderson, Tennessee, to take on Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m.
