Columbia, Mo. – This afternoon the fifth ranked Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action when they played host to the Missouri Baptist University Spartans in an AMC matchup. The Cougars were able to defeat the Spartans by a final score of 79-72 to end the regular season with a 27-3 record and 19-3 record in conference play. With the win today, Columbia College has clinched the AMC regular season title, the number one seed in the AMC Championships, and an automatic bid to the 2018 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Championship in Kansas City, Missouri. This marks the 14^th time the Cougars have won the conference regular season title and the 22^nd season, eighth straight, they will be making an appearance in the NAIA National Championships under head coach Bob Burchard.

This game served as senior day for the Cougars and prior to tip-off Columbia College honored five seniors for their hard work and dedication to the program. Seniors Jackson Dubinski, Nic Reynolds, Nathan Biggs, Hank Mathews, and Lucky Ogbomo were all recognized.

Columbia College came out in the first half and were able to jump out to a quick 13-8 lead in the first five minutes of the game. The Cougars continued to play well as the half progressed and were able to go on a 9-5 run to extend their lead to 22-13 midway through the period. The Spartans battled back over the next few minutes of the half and were able to go on a 13-2 run of their own to take a 26-24 lead with just under five minutes to play in the period. Missouri Baptist continued to push the tempo and were able to extend their lead to as many as nine in the final minute of the half but a late basket from Jackson Dubinski cut the lead to 40-33 at the halftime break. Columbia College went 13-29 from the field in the half and were led by Nathan Biggs who had a team high 10 points in the period.

The Cougars came out in the second half and were able to start the period on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 42 with 17 minutes left to play. Each team exchanged baskets over the next few minutes of the half but with the score tied at 47 a 5-0 run from Columbia gave them a 52-47 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the game. The Spartans were able to cut the lead down to two midway through the half but another 5-0 run from the Cougars extended their lead back out to seven. Missouri Baptist did their best to get back into the game in the closing minutes but the Cougars were able to close them out down the stretch to solidify their 27^th win of the season.

Nathan Biggs led the way for Columbia as he finished with a team high 17 points and nine rebounds. To go along with Biggs, Adam Mennemeyer and Jackson Dubinski both finished with 12 points and Lucky Ogbomo brought down a team high 11 rebounds to round out the top performers for the Cougars.

Columbia is back in action on Wednesday, February 28^th when they host the quarterfinal round of the AMC Championships. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.