Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the fifth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they played host to the William Woods (Mo.) University Owls in an AMC matchup. The Cougars, who picked up their 20^th win of the season on Thursday against Lindenwood University-Belleville (Ill.), were able to defeat the Owls by a final score of 85-80 to improve to 21-1 on the season and 13-1 in conference play.

In the first half of the game, both sides came out and exchanged baskets to start the contest. With the score tied at 13 six minutes into the game, the Cougars were able to go on a 13-2 run and held a 26-15 advantage midway through the period. William Woods battled back over the next few minutes and were able to cut Columbia's lead to four with eight minutes to play in the half. The score remained close for the next few minutes of the game but another 11-4 run from the Cougars to end the half propelled them to a 42-33 lead at the halftime break. The Cougars went 18-33 in the half and were led by Nathan Biggs who had 14 points in the period.

William Woods came out in the second half and started the period on a 5-2 run to cut Columbia's lead to 44-38 with 17 minutes remaining in the game. They were able to keep the game close over the next few minutes of the half but the Cougars held a 58-52 advantage midway through the period. Columbia College picked up the tempo as the half progressed and were able to grow their lead to 10 with just under five minutes to play. William Woods did their best to get back into the game but the Cougars were able to push their lead to 15 late in the contest and never looked back as they held off the Owls down the stretch to clinch their 12^th straight win.

Nathan Biggs led the way for Columbia College as the senior finished with a team high 22 points and brought down seven rebounds. In addition to Biggs, Adam Mennemeyer and Hank Mathews both finished with 15 points, Nic Reynolds dropped in 13 points, and Jackson Dubinski finished with 12 points and a team high nine assists to round out the top performers for Columbia.

The Cougars also won for a bigger cause this afternoon. During today's games against the Owls all four coaches made an interesting fashion statement, wearing sneakers with their usual game attire to show their support of the American Cancer Society's work to save lives from cancer. During Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend, a collaborative initiative of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society, coaches across the country will be showing their support. Today the Cougars raised over $3,700 for the American Cancer Society. Coaches vs. Cancer has been helping the American Cancer Society save lives since 1993 by helping people stay well by educating and empowering people to avoid cancer or find it early; helping people get well with free programs and services when they're facing cancer; by finding cures and investing in research that yields groundbreaking discoveries into cancer's causes and cures; and by fighting back by helping pass laws that fight cancer and keep our communities healthy.

The men's basketball team is back in action on Thursday, February 1^st when they play host to the Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University Lions in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. at the Southwell Athletic Complex.