Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The Columbia College men's basketball team used a 20-3 run early in the second half to pull away for an 83-73 win over host Mount Mercy University in non-conference action Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
 
Columbia improved to 5-0 with the win, while Mount Mercy fell to 2-3. The Cougars are off to their best start since the 2017-18 season, when they opened the year 9-0.
 
Johnny Anderson scored a career-high 25 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, while Caleb Jones added 17 and Adam Sausele chipped in 13. The Cougars shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field, knocked down 11 threes, and held a 17-0 edge in bench points.
 
Mount Mercy jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the opening six minutes, but back-to-back dunks from Marcelous Phillips and Jones sparked Columbia to tie the game at 18-18 with 9:58 remaining in the first half.
 
The Cougars used a 6-0 run to move in front 28-27, and a three-pointer by Jemeal Goines in the closing seconds sent Columbia into the break with a 36-35 advantage.
 
Jones and Goines paced the Cougars with seven points apiece, while Anderson added six. Columbia shot 48.4 percent (15-31) from the field in the first half and held an 11-0 edge in bench points, despite going just 3-of-7 from the free-throw line.
 
Mount Mercy opened the second half with five straight points to take a 40-36 lead, but back-to-back threes from Anderson sparked a 20-3 run that put the Cougars ahead for good at 56-43 with 12:33 left.
 
Columbia extended its lead to 64-49 on a jumper by Jones with 8:48 remaining, but Mount Mercy responded with a run to trim the deficit to seven (66-59).
 
Anderson then drained back-to-back threes to push the lead back to double figures (77-66) with under four minutes to play, sealing the victory for the Cougars.
 
Jaxson Fried led Mount Mercy with a game-high 24 points, while Brayson Laube added 23. The Mustangs hit 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) from the three-throw line in the loss.
 
The Cougars host Missouri Baptist University on Wednesday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m.
 
NOTES: Columbia leads the all-time series 2-1 ... The Cougars have shot 50 percent or better from the field in three games this season.