Columbia, Mo. – Four players scored in double figures as the Columbia College men's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season with a 96-70 victory over Westminster Saturday at the Arena of Southwell Complex.
Columbia improved to 1-0 with the win, while Westminster fell to 0-1.
It was the first game as head coach of the Cougars for Tyler Bredehoeft.
Zac Goss scored 19 points off the bench on 6-of-9 shooting and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line, while Drew Camacho (16 points), AJ Tillman (15 points) and Jeff Fleming (10 points, nine rebounds) also scored in double figures. Kole Deck added nine points and seven rebounds, and Logan Bishop dished out a team-high four assists.
The Cougars shot 52.1 percent (38-of-73) from the field and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from three-point range. Columbia committed just seven turnovers and turned 14 Westminster miscues into 17 points. The Cougars outscored the Blue Jays 50-30 in the paint and 44-16 on the bench.
Westminster jumped in front 8-3 less than two minutes into the game, but the Cougars answered with an 11-2 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from Tillman, to take a 14-10 lead. Westminster tied the game at 14-14 with 13:32 left in the half before Goss scored a layup and a free throw to put Columbia back on top for good.
A 9-0 Columbia run, capped by a Deck three-pointer and a pair of free throws from Fleming, pushed the lead to 35-20 with 7:14 to play in the first half. Westminster answered with a 13-3 run to cut the deficit to 38-33 with 2:58 left, but the Cougars closed the half on a 9-0 run, scoring the final nine points, to take a 47-33 lead into the break. Tillman led all scorers with 12 first-half points, while Camacho added 10 and Fleming had eight.
Westminster cut the lead to nine (47-38) early in the second half, but threes from Camacho and Goss quickly pushed the margin back to 15 (53-38). A 7-0 run, featuring a Goss three-pointer and two layups from Danny Garza, extended the lead to 66-46 with 13:20 to play. Goss scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half.
Columbia closed the game on an 11-2 run to build its biggest lead of the night, 96-67, on a Goss layup and free throw with 37 seconds remaining.
The Cougars will travel to Sprinfield, Mo. on Tuesday, Oct. 27 to take on Evangel University at 7:00 p.m.
