Batesville, Ark. – The fifth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action tonight when they traveled to Batesville, Arkansas to take on the Lyon (Ark.) College Scots in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were able to defeat the Scots by a final score of 73-68 to improve to 26-2 on the season and 18-2 in conference play.  

Columbia College came out in the first half and took an early 4-0 lead over the Scots in the first two minutes of the game. Lyon answered back with a 7-3 run of their own and the score was tied at seven with 15 minutes to play in the half. The score remained close as the half progressed but with both teams tied at 14 the Scots were able to go on an 11-4 run to take a 25-18 lead late in the period. The Cougars battled back in the final minutes of the half but the Scots held a 29-26 lead at the break. Columbia College went 8-18 from the field in the half and were led by Nathan Biggs who had a team high six points.

In the second half of the game, the Cougars came out of the locker room and went on a quick 6-2 run to take a 32-31 lead. Columbia College continued to play well on both sides of the floor as the half progressed and they held a 50-40 lead over the Scots midway through the period. Lyon answered back and were able to cut Columbia's lead to seven but another run from the Cougars propelled them to a 61-49 lead with five minutes to play in the contest. The Scots did their best to get back into the game and were able to cut Columbia's lead to four with less than a minute left to play but that was as close as they would get as the Cougars closed out the game to solidify their fifth straight win.

Jackson Dubinski and Nic Reynolds led the way for Columbia as they both finished with a team high 18 points. Dubsinki also finished with two assists which puts him at 386 career assists ranking him fifth all-time in program history.

The men's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, February 17^th when they travel to Conway, Arkansas, to take on the 22^nd ranked Central Baptist (Ark.) College Mustangs in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 3 p.m.