Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the third ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they hosted William Woods (Mo.) University in their final game of the regular season. This game served as senior night for the Cougars and before the start of the contest Columbia College honored the seniors on the team for their hard work and dedication to the program throughout their time in Columbia. The Cougars struggled on the offensive end in this game and were defeated by the Owls by a final score of 65-57 and finished the regular season with a 26-4 record.

The Cougars came out in the first half of the game and had trouble scoring the ball in the opening minutes. They were held to just three field goals in the first seven minutes of the game and found themselves trailing 11-8 early in the contest. However, the Cougars battled back as the half progressed and were finally able to take the lead midway through the period after Preston Whitfield knocked down a deep three pointer to give Columbia a 15-13 advantage. Despite having trouble on the offensive end, the Cougars played tough defense and forced the Owls to take difficult shots throughout the half. They were able to end the half on a 12-4 run and held a 31-23 lead at the halftime break. The Cougars were led by Preston Whitfield who finished with 12 points in the half.

Columbia College came out in the second half and were firing on the offensive end. They were able to knock down their first two shots of the half and held a nine point lead with 16 minutes remaining in the game. However, William Woods offense came alive midway through the period and the Owls were able to go on a 13-4 run with 11 minutes left in the game to tie the contest at 42 apiece.

William Woods continued to push the tempo over the next few minutes and they were able to grow their lead to as much as six late in the game. The Cougars struggled to come up with an answer for the run from the Owls but their team came alive in the final few minutes after Nic Reynolds converted on an and one opportunity to cut William Woods lead down to two with three minutes remaining in the game. They did their best to tie up the score but the Owls were able to close out the game down the final stretch of half and handed the Cougars their fourth loss of the season.

Columbia College was led by Nic Reynolds who finished with a team high 13 points in the contest. In addition to Reynolds, Preston Whitfield and Malik Ray each added 12 points to round out the top
performers for the Cougars.

Columbia College is back in action on Thursday, March 2^nd when they host Missouri Baptist University in the first round of the AMC Tournament. The Cougars defeated the Spartans twice this season with Columbia winning the first game by a final score of 79-63 and the second game by a final score of 70-68. The contest is set to tip-off at 7 p.m. at the Southwell Athletic Complex.