Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the third ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they hosted Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were able to defeat the Lions by a final score of 92-72 and improved to 25-2 on the season and 18-1 in conference play. With the loss, the Lions fall to 17-10 on the season and 12-7 in conference play.

Columbia College got off to a slow start in the game as they found themselves trailing 10-5 to start the contest. However, their offense caught fire midway through the half thanks to an explosive dunk from Malik Ray that swung the momentum in the Cougars favor. Columbia continued to push the tempo as the half progressed and grew their lead to as much as 11 with under two minutes remaining in the period. Both sides exchanged baskets to close out the half but Columbia College took a 42-32 lead into the halftime break. The Cougars were led by Hank Mathews who finished with a team high nine points in the half.

Columbia College continued to grow their lead at the start of the second half as they opened the period with a 13-9 run to take a 55-41 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game. They played tough defense on the Lions throughout the half and forced them to take difficult shots on the offensive end. Freed-Hardeman did their best to get back into the game but the damage had already been done as the Cougars closed out the half on a 15-10 run and cruised to their fifth straight victory.

Columbia College was led by Hank Mathews who tied his career high with 20 points in the win. In addition to Mathews, Malik Ray finished with 17 points, Jackson Dubinski added 15 points, Nic Reynolds dropped in 13 points, Preston Whitfield finished with 10 points, and Lucky Ogbomo brought down a game high 10 rebounds to round out the top performers for the Cougars.

Columbia College is back in action on Saturday, February 18^th when they host Williams Baptist (Ark.) College in an AMC matchup. Columbia College defeated the Eagles in their last contest by a final score of 66-60 in a game that Nathan Biggs finished with a team high 12 points. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the Southwell Athletic Complex.