Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College men's basketball team limited Benedictine College (Kan.) to season-low 29.7 percent shooting, including misses on its first nine attempts, as the Cougars posted a 80-53 victory in the championship game of the Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday at the Arena of Southwell Complex.
 
AJ Walker scored 17 of his career-high 22 points in the second half, knocking down a career-best six three-pointers for the Cougars. Max Rieger added 14 points on four threes, while Johnny Anderson had 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Cougars hit 14 three-pointers in the win and had a 46-38 advantage in rebounds.
 
"This was a great defensive effort by our team in both halves," said head coach Tomas Brock. "If we can shoot a good percentage from three—and track down the misses when we don't—good things will happen."
 
Columbia won its third-straight game to improve to 8–1, while Benedictine saw its three-game win streak snapped and dropped to 6–4. The Cougars are off to their best start since the 2017-18 season, when they opened the year 21–1.
 
Columbia came out strong, holding the Ravens without a field goal for the opening seven minutes and jumping out to a 12-2 lead after the Ravens missed their first nine attempts.
 
Back-to-back three-point plays by Caleb Jones and Anderson highlighted an 8-0 run to extend the advantage to 20-7 with 9:21 to play before half.
 
Columbia carried a 37-22 lead into half after holding Benedictine to just 22.6 percent shooting (7–31), including 2-of-13 from three. Anderson paced the Cougars with 10 points and six rebounds, and Columbia owned a 28-17 advantage on the glass in the opening half.
 
Walker drilled three straight threes as the Cougars opened the second half on an 11–0 run, pushing the lead to 48–22 with 16:50 remaining. He then knocked down his fourth triple in a span of 2:27 to stretch the advantage to 51–24.
 
Brycen LaRue led the Ravens with 12 points, while Larry Parker III and Aiden Sullivan added nine points each. Benedictine hit just 5-of-29 from three-point range in the loss.
 
The Cougars host Williams Baptist University in the 2025-26 American Midwest Conference opener on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

NOTES: Columbia leads the all-time series with Benedictine 8-7 … The Cougars have hit 10 or more threes six times this season.