Box Score Belleville, Ill. – Tonight the fifth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they traveled to Belleville, Illinois, to take on Lindenwood University-Belleville (Ill.) in an AMC matchup. The Cougars defeated the Lynx by a final score of 107-70 to improve 20-1 on the season and 12-1 in conference play. This marks the eighth straight season Columbia College has reached the 20 win mark and the 26th time under head coach Bob Burchard.
The Lynx came out in the first half of the game and got off to a quick start as they took an early 6-2 lead in the first minute and a half of the contest. The Cougars settled in over the next few minutes of the game and went on a 14-2 run to take a 16-8 lead with 14 minutes to play in the half. They were able to push their lead to 10 midway through the half but the Lynx battled back and cut Columbia's lead to 32-27 with six minutes to play in the period. The Cougars answered Lindenwood-Bellevilles run with a 7-0 run of their own and continued to play well down the final stretch of the half as they took a 51-37 lead into the halftime break. Columbia went 21-36 from the field in the half and were led by Jackson Dubinski who had a team high 10 points.
The Cougars came out of the locker room and went on an 8-2 run to start the second half to take a 59-39 lead with 16 minutes remaining in the game. They shot the ball well as the half progressed and were able to push their lead to 81-52 midway through the period. The Lynx did their best to get back in the game but they had a tough time scoring the ball and the Cougars were able to extend their lead to 35 with five minutes left in the contest. Columbia College closed out the game in the final minutes and cruised to their 11th straight win.
Dubinski led the way for Columbia as the senior finished with a game high 18 points. In addition to Dubinski, Nathan Biggs finished with 16 points and a team high five assists, Nic Reynolds dropped in 15 points, Adam Mennemeyer finished with 12 points, and Jalen Olds and Darrick Ellis both finished with 11 points to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
The men's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, January 27th when they play host to the William Woods (Mo.) University Owls in the AMC Game of the Week. The game is set to start at 3 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
