Columbia, Mo. – The No. 18-ranked Columbia College men's basketball team clinched at least a share of the American Midwest Conference (AMC) regular season championship and secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament with a 63-57 victory over Central Baptist College on Saturday afternoon at Southwell Complex.

Columbia won its fifth-straight game to improve to 24-3 and 12-1 in the AMC, while Central Baptist fell to 10-15 and 7-6 in the conference.

Johnny Anderson led the Cougars with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Jemeal Goines recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Caleb Jones added 14 points despite six turnovers, and Aj Walker chipped in 10 points and three assists.

Columbia shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the field and dominated the paint, outscoring the Mustangs 38-22 in the lane. The Cougars also held a significant rebounding advantage at 38-29 and got 11 bench points compared to zero for Central Baptist.

The game featured eight lead changes and four ties in a tightly-contested battle. Central Baptist's Tyler Johnson paced all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Devon Jefferson added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Mustangs.

Columbia trailed 30-28 at halftime after shooting 52.4 percent in the first half. Central Baptist led by as many as eight points in the second half at 45-37 with 11:10 remaining before Columbia mounted its comeback.