Salina, Kan. – Max Rieger scored seven points in a 48-second span in the second half to ignite a 9-0 run as the No. 22-ranked Columbia College men's basketball team pulled away for an 81-70 road win over Kansas Wesleyan University on Tuesday in Salina, Kan.
 
Columbia forced 21 turnovers and knocked down 25-of-28 free throws in the victory, while outscoring Kansas Wesleyan 51-38 in the second half. The Cougars were efficient offensively after halftime, shooting 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) from the field.
 
Caleb Jones led five Cougars in double figures with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Jemeal Goines recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Rieger added 15 points, AJ Walker chipped in 14 points while going a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, and Johnny Anderson finished with 11 points.
 
With the win, Columbia extended its winning streak to eight games and improved to 18-2 on the season. Kansas Wesleyan dropped its second straight contest and fell to 7-12.
 
A slow start saw the Cougars miss two shots and commit three turnovers on their first five possessions, falling behind 6-1 in the opening three minutes. Anderson's three-point play trimmed the deficit to four (10-6), and Rieger's three-point play capped a 7-0 run as the Cougars regained the lead, 15-13, with 11:19 remaining in the first half.
 
Trailing 23-20 with less than six minutes to play, Walker's three-point play ignited a 7-1 run, putting the Cougars back in front at 27-24.
 
Kansas Wesleyan took a 32-30 lead into halftime as the Cougars were limited to 30.8 percent (8-of-26) shooting from the field, including just 1-of-14 from three-point range. Rieger led Columbia with eight points, while the Cougars stayed within striking distance by going 13-of-15 from the free-throw line.
 
Adam Sausele scored on a put-back to give the Cougars a 50-48 lead, and then seven-straight points by Reiger and a bucket by Anderson made it 62-54 following a 9-0 run. Jones followed with seven-consecutive points to give CC a double-figure lead at 69-59 with 3:56 to play.
 
Caiden Punt (17 points) and Evens Appolon (10) scored in double figures for KWU, which shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the field in the loss. 
 
The Cougars return to conference play by hosting UHSP on Saturday, January 24 at 3 p.m.
 
NOTES: Columbia leads the all-time series and snapped a two-game losing streak to KWU … The two teams combined to commit 35 fouls and shoot 49 free-throws … The Cougars had 13 steals, the fifth time reaching double figures this season … Columbia dominated the points in the paint 48-26.