Conway, Ark. – The No. 22-ranked Columbia College men's basketball team stayed perfect in conference play Saturday, limiting host Central Baptist College to a season-low 28.8 percent shooting in a 70-52 road win in Conway, Ark.
Columbia won its seventh straight game to improve to 17-2 overall and 6-0 in the American Midwest Conference, while CBC fell to 6-12 and 3-3 in the AMC. The home loss snapped CBC's 25-game AMC winning streak dating back to December 1, 2022–a run spanning 1,143 days.
Jemeal Goines had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the way for Columbia, while
Adam Sausele (17 points) and
Caleb Jones (16) also scored in double figures. The Cougars had 16 assists in the win and hit 14-of-17 from the free-throw line.
Goines scored five straight points early in a low-scoring first half as the Cougars grabbed a slim 10-8 lead. A steal and bucket by
Max Rieger extended the advantage to 14-9 with 11:55 remaining.
Columbia pushed its lead into double figures at 26-15 following a 10-0 run that included a pair of three-pointers from Sausele. The Mustangs missed 13-straight from the field and did not record a field goal for over nine minutes.
The Cougars carried a 35-23 lead into halftime after holding CBC to just 8-of-28 shooting (28.6 percent) in the first half. Goines led Columbia with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Jones added eight and Sausele added six. CC outrebounded CBC 25-16 and dished out 10 assists in the opening half.
An 11-2 run to open the second half pushed the CC advantage to 46-25 with 16:06 left following a lay-up by Goines.
Jace Eskew's three-pointer highlighted a 6-0 run as the lead grew to 54-31 with 11:55 to play.
Tyler Johnson (14), MacArthur Reed Jr. (11) and Caleb Knight (10) scored in double figures for Central Baptist, which hit just 3-of-22 from three-point range in the loss.
The Cougars have a quick turn around with a non-conference game at Kansas Wesleyan University on Tuesday, January 20 at 5 p.m.
NOTES: Columbia snapped a five-game losing streak to CBC and leads the all-time series 14-12 … Head coach Thomas Brock picked up his 70
th career AMC victory …
AJ Walker had a game-high seven assists, one off his career high …
Johnny Anderson had a game-high 11 rebounds.