Columbia, Mo. - Tonight the sixth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they hosted the Westminster College Blue Jays in a nonconference matchup. The Cougars topped the Blue Jays by a final score of 82-71 improving to 2-1 on the season.
The Cougars took a few minutes to settle in as the night began. After five minutes of play, Columbia led 11-7. Each team gave up some early turnovers as they were trying to establish themselves. The Cougars were finding much of their first half success at the rim. Freshman, Landon Harrison, entered the game and made an immediate impression as he would bring the ball down the right wing, fake a handoff, and finish strong at the basket to kick off his college debut as a Cougar. Columbia held a 22-11 lead with eight to play in the half. The Cougars called timeout as they held a 10 point lead, 26-16, with six minutes before the break. Columbia pushed the ball up the floor off of a defensive rebound, resulting in an and-one completion from Malcolm Reed to take a 32-18 lead. Over the final minutes of the first half, the Blue Jays went on a run cutting the score to four as Columbia led 34-30 at halftime. The Cougars shot 52 percent from the field and 72 percent from the line, along with 18 of 34 points coming from the paint.
It was a sloppy start to the second half as each team quickly turned the ball over, ending in a trip to the free throw line for Westminster where they sunk both, making it a two point deficit only seconds into the half. Justin Shaw, with good anticipation, was able to steal a handoff and feed Adam Mennemeyer for two on the other end. Thibault Benabid followed that possession with a dunk to give Columbia a 43-34 lead. The Blue Jays responded with a quick three, but Mennemeyer answered right back completing a four-point play to grab a 10 point lead. Westminster got the lead back into single digits, but again Columbia answered, this time with a strong take to the basket from Shaw, who got the basket and hit one at the charity stripe for the three-point play to take back the 10 point lead, 50-40. The Blue Jays hit a few from beyond the arc to keep themselves in the game, but Columbia continued to find the basket on their end as they held a 57-49 lead, and a Cougar timeout was called with under 13 left in the game. The Blue Jays began to apply some full court pressure, but Columbia took care of the ball. The Cougars extended their lead as Benabid scored eight straight, making it 71-56. The Blue Jays continued to battle as they went on a 13-4 run cutting the Cougar lead to 75-69 with three and a half minutes remaining. It was 77-71 with just over a minute on the clock when Mennemeyer converted a three-point play to create a little more space for the Cougars. Columbia wrapped up the game securing an 82-71 victory over Westminster.
Columbia had two Cougars with double-doubles as Thibault Benabid had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Justin Shaw had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Adam Mennemeyer was also in double-digits with 17 points, while Braden Wendel recorded 11 points, going a perfect 4-4 from the field, 1-1 from three, and 2-2 from the line. In addition, Shaw also dished out four assists in the contest.
The men's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, November 17th when they host the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Eutectics in their first AMC matchup of the season. The game will tip-off at 3:00 p.m. in Southwell Complex.
