Springfield, Mo. – Jemeal Goines recorded a double-double with 15 points and tied a career-high 15 rebounds to lead the No. 1 seed and No. 15-ranked Columbia College men's basketball team to an 83-71 victory over No. 3 seed William Baptist University in the championship game of the 2026 American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament on Monday in Springfield, Mo.
 
Columbia captured its first AMC Tournament Championship since 2022-23 and 13^th in program history, and will receive the automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
 
The Cougars won their ninth-straight game to improve to 28-3, while Williams Baptist had its two-game win streak snapped and fell to 22-6. 
 
Max Rieger added 17 points off the bench, while AJ Walker (16) and Adam Sausele (14) also scored in double figures for Columbia. The Cougars hit 12 threes in the victory and had a 20-4 advantage in bench points.
 
Williams Baptist knocked down its first three shots and jumped to a 7-0 lead in the opening two minutes. Goines answered with five straight points to cut the deficit to 12-11, and back-to-back three-pointers from Walker and Rieger gave the Cougars their first lead at 17-16.
 
The Eagles briefly reclaimed a 21-17 edge, but Johnny Anderson scored inside and Goines buried a three to put the Cougars back in front, 22-21. Anderson followed with a four-point play, and Reiger ignited a 10-0 run with a pair of threes and a fast-break layup, stretching the lead to 32-25 with 3:25 remaining in the half.
 
Columbia carried a 42-29 advantage into the locker room after holding Williams Baptist to just two field goals over the final six minutes. Goines paced the Cougars with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Reiger added 11 points. Columbia drained eight three-pointers in the first half and dominated second-chance points, 14-2.
 
AJ Walker's wing three-pointer capped a 7-0 run as the lead grew to 52-32, but Williams Baptist would not go away. The Eagles limited the Cougars without a bucket for over five minutes and responded with an 11-2 run to trim the lead to 54-43 with 11:42 to play.
 
Columbia responded with an 8-1 run highlighted by a one-handed flush by Caleb Jones to get the lead back to 62-44 with 10:14 to play. Sausele's three-pointer from the wing with 2:26 left sealed the victory for the Cougars and put them up 79-65.
 
Rico Quinton (18 points), Deion Wesson (18), Amarion Wilson (13) and Jesse Washington (10) scored in double figures for Williams Baptist, which hit just 5-of-20 from three-point range in the loss.
 
The 2026 NAIA Men's Basketball Championship qualifiers will be announced on Thursday, March 5 at 6 p.m. (CT), and the first round is set for Friday, March 13.  
 
Columbia will make its 25^th appearance in the NAIA National Tournament, and the Cougars will be one of the 16 hosts for first and second round play.
 
NOTES: Columbia leads the all-time series with Williams Baptist 49-7 … The double-double for Goines was his 11^th of the season … The Cougars recorded 28 wins for the first time since the 2015-16 season and 10^thtime in program history.