Box Score Batesville, Ark. – The Columbia College men's basketball team was back in action this afternoon when they traveled to Batesville, Arkansas, to take on the Lyon (Ark.) College Scots in an AMC matchup. The Cougars defeated the Scots by a final score of 67-56 to improve to 8-6 on the season and 4-4 in AMC play.
Columbia College came out in the first half and were able to score the first three points of the game before the Scots were able to get on the board. The Cougars played well over the next few minutes but the Scots matched them shot-for-shot as the score remained close. With the score tied at 14, Columbia College went on a 5-0 run and held a 19-14 lead midway through the half. Lyon College battled back and answered with a 14-3 run of their own to take a 28-22 lead with just over three minutes to play in the period. However, their lead did not last long as Columbia College ended the half on a 9-2 run and took a 31-30 lead into the locker room. Thibault Benabid had 12 points in the half to lead the Cougars.
In the second half of the game, Columbia College came out and started the period on a 16-3 run to take a 47-33 lead. The Scots bounced back and cut the lead to 10 over the next few minutes, but the Cougars continued to play well as the half progressed and extended their lead to 21 with eight minutes left to play. The Scots did their best to get back into the game but the Cougars played well on both sides of the court and were able to close out Lyon College down the stretch to pick up their eighth win of the season.
Thibault Benabid once again led the way for Columbia as he finished with his fifth double-double of the season after scoring a team high 14 points and bringing down a team high 10 rebounds. To go along with Benabid, Desmond Funches finished with 13 points and Braden Wendel added 10 points to round out the top performers for the Cougars.
The men's basketball team is back in action on Tuesday, January 8th when they play host to the Park (Mo.) University Pirates in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. in the Southwell Athletic Complex.
