Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the third ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they took on Williams Baptist (Ark.) College in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were defeated by the Eagles by a final score of 70-67 and fall to 25-3 on the season and 18-2 in conference play. With the win, the Eagles improve to 10-16 on the season and 6-14 in conference play.

The Cougars got off to a quick start in the first half as they were able to win the tip and immediately hit a three on the offensive end to break out to an early 3-0 lead. They continued to shoot the ball well to start the game and were able to grow their lead to 16-10 midway through the half. Despite getting off to a slow start in the game, Williams Baptist offense came alive as the half progressed. They went on a 15-7 run over a three minute span and were able to take their first lead of the ballgame with seven minutes remaining in the first half. Both sides exchanged points down the final stretch of the period but ultimately the Cougars would take a 36-35 lead into the halftime break.

Columbia College came out of halftime and were firing on the offensive end. They knocked down their first four shots of the half and were able to grow their lead to as much as six with 17 minutes remaining in the game. However, the Eagles responded quickly to the offensive surge by the Cougars and were able to go on a 12-0 run midway through the half to take a six point lead in the contest. They continued to play well on both ends of the floor and held a 10 point lead with eight minutes remaining in the game. Despite being down late in the matchup, the Cougars continued to battle throughout the half. They were able to tie the game at 63 after going on a 12-2 run but were never quite able to take the lead down the final stretch as the Eagles closed out the Cougars to hand Columbia College their third loss of the season.

Malik Ray was the leading scorer for Columbia as the senior forward finished with a team high 15 points and nine rebounds. In addition to Ray, Nic Reynolds and Preston Whitfield each had 11 points and Jackson Dubinski added 10 points to round out the top performers for Columbia.

The Cougars are back in action on Thursday, February 23^rd when they travel to Parkville, Missouri, to take on Park (Mo.) University in a crucial AMC contest. Columbia College currently holds a two game lead over the Pirates and a win would solidify a regular season conference title and a spot in the NAIA National Tournament. The game is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.