Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the sixth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they played host to the 25th ranked Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College Blue Raiders in their first game of the 2018 Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic. The Cougars were able to defeat the Blue Raiders in overtime by a final score of 75-67 to improve to 4-1 on the season.
In the first half of the game, both sides came out and had a tough time establishing a tempo early. Both sides settled in over the next few minutes and the Cougars held a 9-8 lead with 14 minutes left to play in the half. However, the Blue Raiders responded with a 7-0 run to take a 15-9 lead midway through the period. Lindsey Wilson continued to play well over the net few minutes of the game and extended their lead to 24-14 with 8:25 left to play. Columbia battled back and were able to cut the lead to five with just over four minutes to play in the half. The Cougars played well down the final stretch of the half but the Blue Raiders took a 33-29 lead into the locker room. Desmond Funches had a game high nine points at the break.
Columbia College came out in the second half and were immediately able to cut the lead to two. Each side had a tough time scoring over the next few minutes of the game but the Blue Raiders held a 43-35 lead with 16 minutes left to play. The Cougars finally got going over their next few possessions and four straight points from Justin Shaw cut the lead to three before Lindsey Wilson was forced to call a timeout. The Cougars stayed hot following the timeout and were able to cut the lead to 44-46 but then six straight points from Lindsey Wilson extended their lead back to seven midway through the period. Columbia College picked up their defensive efforts over the next few minutes and were able to cut the lead back to one with 3:30 left to play and then took their first lead of the game since the 14 minute mark in the first half. Lindsey Wilson battled back and held a three point lead late in the half but a three point shot from Adam Mennemeyer with three second left to play tied the contest at 62 and the game entered overtime.
The Cougars came out in the overtime period and scored the first six points to take a 68-62 lead before the Blue Raiders were forced to call a timeout. They continued to hit their free throws down the final stretch of overtime and never let Lindsey Wilson back in the game as they were able to close them out to pick up their fourth win of the season.
Columbia College was led by Desmond Funches who finished with a game and season high 18 points on the night. In addition to Funches, Justin Shaw also had a season high 16 points, Thibault Benabid added 12 points and a game high 11 rebounds, and Adam Mennemeyer finished with 10 points to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
The men's basketball team is back in action tomorrow, November 24th when they play host to Clarke (Iowa) University in their final game of the 2018 Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic. The game is set to tip off at 3:00 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
