Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College men's basketball team shot 63.9 percent in the first half and rolled past Kansas Wesleyan University 91-69 on Tuesday at the Arena of Southwell Complex.
The Cougars shot 56.5 percent (35-62) from the field, led 58-32 at halftime and built a lead of as many as 32 points in the second half.
Drew Camacho led five Cougars in double figures with 19 points, while AJ Tillman (14 points, four assists), Jeff Fleming (14 points, eight rebounds), Marcelous Phillips (13 points, eight rebounds) and Kole Deck (13 points) also reached double figures. Columbia had a 25-16 advantage in points off turnovers and a 50-26 edge in points in the paint.
Columbia improved to 5-1, while Kansas Wesleyan fell to 0-4.
Kansas Wesleyan scored first on a jumper by AJ Walker, but Camacho tied it at 2-2 from the free-throw line and the Cougars ripped off an 11-0 run to lead 11-2 with 17:01 to play in the first half. Columbia's lead grew to 27-10 on a layup by Deck with 11:27 left, and Phillips scored a layup and a jumper to make it 37-16 with 7:12 to go.
Braylin Goins hit a pair of threes and scored all 10 of his points in the first half for the Coyotes, who shot 40.7 percent (11-27) before the break. Columbia closed the half on a 6-0 run, as Zac Goss and Fleming each knocked down a three in the final minute to make it 58-32 at halftime.
Camacho (11 points), Phillips (10 points), Tillman (9 points) and Fleming (9 points) all had big first halves for Columbia, which shot 63.9 percent (23-36) from the field and made five threes before the break.
The Cougars opened the second half on a 12-4 run, and a free throw by Tillman made it 70-38 with 15:03 left. Kansas Wesleyan outscored Columbia 31-21 the rest of the way, but never got the deficit under 19 points.
Columbia outscored Kansas Wesleyan 31-25 in bench points and held a 38-32 edge on the boards, with Fleming and Phillips each pulling down a game-high eight rebounds. Deck was 5-of-6 from the field in 14 minutes off the bench, and the Coyotes never led after the opening basket.
The Cougars are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 14 as they travel to Siloam Springs, Ark. to take on John Brown University at 2:00 p.m.
