Columbia, Mo. – Tonight the third ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they played host to the Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) University Lions in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were defeated by the Lions by a final score of 89-94 in overtime to drop to 21-2 on the season and 13-2 in conference play.
Columbia College came out in the first half and knocked down their first two three point shots of the game to take an early 6-0 lead in the first minute of the contest. The Lions quickly answered the Cougars run with a 9-4 run of their own and Columbia held a 10-9 advantage five minutes into the game. Both sides exchanged baskets over the next few minutes but with the score tied at 14 the Lions were able to use an 11-3 run to take a 25-17 lead midway through the period. Despite being down, the Cougars battled back and were able to cut Freed-Hardemans lead to four late in the period. They ended the half on a 15-7 run and took a 40-36 lead into the halftime break. Columbia College went 13-26 in the half and were led by Nic Reynolds who had 10 point in the period.
The Cougars were able to pick up in the second half where they left off in the first as they went on a 7-4 run to start the period to extend their lead to 47-40 with 16 minutes to play. Columbia College continued to play well as the half progressed and were able to push their lead to 14 midway through the period. Freed-Hardeman bounced back and cut the Cougars lead to seven with seven minutes to play and then went on a 17-9 run to take a 77-76 lead in the final minutes of the game. Columbia College immediately answered to retake the lead but were unable to hold off the Lions down the stretch as the score was tied at 82 at the end of regulation.
The Cougars came out in overtime and were able to score the first two points of the period to take a two point lead. However, the Lions immediately answered with a 6-1 run to take an 88-85 lead midway through the period. Freed-Hardeman continued to push the tempo in the final minutes of overtime and were able to knock down their free throws down the stretch to snap Columbia's 12 game winning streak.
Adam Mennemeyer led the way for the Cougars as he finished with a team high 19 points. To go along with Mennemeyer, Nathan Biggs finished with 16 points and Nic Reynolds dropped in 12 point. Jackson Dubinski also had a big game as he finished with 15 points, a team high nine rebounds, and a team high six assists. His six assists puts him at 372 for his career which is now seventh all-time on the Columbia College assist list.
The men's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, February 3rd when they play host to the Williams Baptist (Ark.) College in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 3 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
