Box Score Conway, Ark. – The Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action tonight when they traveled to Conway, Arkansas, to take on the 18th ranked Central Baptist (Ark.) College Mustangs in an AMC matchup. The Cougars, who came into this game on a two game winning streak, were unable to extend their streak to three as they were defeated by a final score of 63-61 to fall to 7-6 on the season and 3-4 in the AMC.
The Mustangs came out in the first half and jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. The Cougars bounced back quickly and responded with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 9-7 lead with 14 minutes left to play in the half. However, their lead did not last long as the Mustangs answered with a 6-0 run to take a 13-9 lead. Columbia College responded by knocking down a three pointer to cut the lead to one and the score remained close for the remainder of the half. With the score tied at 24, Thibault Benabid was able to score the final basket of the half with thirty seconds left to play and the Cougars took a 26-24 lead into the locker room. Benabid had a team high nine points at the break.
In the second half of the game, the Mustangs came out and quickly tied the game at 26. The Cougars picked it up over the next few minutes and were able to go on an 11-3 run to take a 37-29 lead with 15 minutes left to play in the game. Columbia College continued to play well as the half progressed and held a 55-48 lead with six minutes to play in the contest. Central Baptist battled back down the final stretch of the half and were able to use a 9-2 run to tie the game at 57 late in the period. The Mustangs had the momentum in the final minutes of the game and were able to extend their lead to three with a minute left to play. Columbia College did their best to get back into the game and were able to cut the score to one but that was as close as they would get as the Mustangs closed them out down the stretch to hand the Cougars their sixth loss of the season.
Thibault Benabid led the way for Columbia as he finished with 13 points and a team high 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. To go along with Benabid, Adam Mennemeyer added 17 points and Desmond Funchess finished with 10 points to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
The men's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, January 5th when they travel to Batesville, Arkansas, to take on the Lyon (Ark.) College Scots in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 3 p.m.
