Springfield, Mo. – The Columbia College men's basketball team picked up win No. 3 on the season with a 76-68 win against Evangel (Mo.). The Cougars (3-1) are playing at the Baptist Bible College Classic in Springfield, Mo.
 
The first six minutes of the game were back-and-forth as neither team held a lead more than two-points, but Jack Fritsche changed that with back-to-back three-pointers, giving Columbia the 14-9 advantage. Evangel fought back and retook the lead (20-19) with 6:14 left in the first half, but Columbia answered with the next five-points to lead, 24-20. The Cougars held on to the lead for the rest of the half, leading 38-31 at the intermission.

Columbia came out strong in the second half, extending its lead to double-digits (53-43) for the first time of the game with 12:20 remaining. Evangel closed the gap to five-points with 22-seconds left, but Tony Burks knocked down three free throws in the final 22-seconds, leading the Cougars to the eight-point win.


By the Numbers
50-39 – Columbia out rebounded Evangel by 11
6:14 – Evangel's last lead was one-point with 6:14 left in the first half
13 – The Cougars had the highest lead of the game at 13-points
13/23 – Columbia had 13 assists on 23 made field goals

Columbia Leaders
Scoring Leader – Tony Burks (27)
Rebounding Leader – Jack Fritsche (8)
Assist Leader – Cole Gerken (4)

Evangel (Mo.) Leaders
Scoring Leader – Cade Coffman (12)
Rebounding Leader – Cade Coffman (12)
Assist Leader – Josh Pritchett (4)
 
Up Next
The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 14 when they face Baptist Bible College in Springfield. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM.