St. Louis, Mo. – Tony Burks connected on an 18-foot jumper with 1.3 seconds left to lift the Columbia College men's basketball team to a 63-61 victory at Missouri Baptist University Saturday in St. Louis.
 
Burks finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five steals, while Collin Parker added a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Cole Gerken (13) and Carson Parker (10) also scored in double figures for the Cougars, who outrebounded Missouri Baptist 41-29.
 
Columbia won its third-straight game to improve to 11-4 (3-1 AMC), while Missouri Baptist had its three-game win streak snapped and fell to 8-7 (4-1 AMC).
 
Carson and Collin Parker combined to score the first nine points for the Cougars who held a 9-5 advantage early in the contest. The lead grew to double figures (19-9) with 12:55 to play after an 8-0 run by the Cougars. Columbia hit 8-of-11 from the field to start the game.
 
A 10-0 run by Missouri Baptist knotted the score at 19-19 and forced a Columbia timeout. A pair of lay-ups by Gerken got the lead back to four (23-19), but the Spartans ended the half on a 14-5 run to take the 33-28 lead at half.  The Cougars did not score in the final 4:19.
 
Columbia shot 44.0 percent (11-25) from the field in the first half, but hit just 1-of-7 beyond the arc. Burks, Gerken and Collin Parker had six points each to lead the Cougars.
 
A 9-2 run by Columbia gave the Cougars a 37-35 with 16:47 left in the second half. Carson and Collin Parker had seven of the first nine points. Collin Parker scored three-straight buckets to extend the advantage to 50-47.
 
After Missouri Baptist cut the lead to one, the Cougars answered with nine-straight points to make it a double-figure lead (59-50) with 6:14 to play. The Spartans answered back with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to two, but Burks connected on a pair of free-throws.
 
Missouri Baptist hit back-to back buckets to tie the game before Burks' game-winning shot.
 
Tyrell Andrews led Missouri Baptist with 20 points, while Brendon Hardy added 13.
 
Columbia leads the all-time series with Missouri Baptist 51-31, and the Cougars snapped a three-game win streak by the Spartans.
 
The Cougars travel to Kansas Wesleyan University for the final game of 2022 on Saturday, Dec. 31, at 1 p.m.