Burks Lifts Cougars Past William Woods in Semis

Columbia, Mo. – Tony Burks scored 27 of his game-high 32 points in the second half as the No. 1 seed Columbia College men’s basketball team fought back from a seven-point halftime deficit for a 76-60 win over No. 5 seed William Woods University in the semifinals of the 2023 American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Saturday at The Arena of Southwell Complex. The Cougars outscored William Woods 53-30 in the second half.
 
Burks was 7-of-15 from the field and hit a school-record 18-of-21 from the free-throw line in the win. The previous school record for free-throws made in a game was 17 by Jim Ogle vs. Tarkio on Dec. 3, 1978. 
 
Columbia won its fourth-straight game to improve to 22-8, while William Woods had its season come to an end with a 15-13 record. The Cougars host the winner of No. 2 seed Missouri Baptist/No. 3 Central Baptist in the AMC Tournament Championship game on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m.
 
Brock Davis (11 points, eight rebounds) and Collin Parker (10 points) also scored in double figures, while Marlon Allen added eight points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Columbia hit 31-of-38 (81.6 percent) from the free-throw line and outrebounded Williams Woods 49-31.
 
Columbia’s defense was the story early in the contest as William Woods missed nine of its first 10 shots from the field and the Cougars led 7-2. The Owls scored eight-straight points to take it first lead of the game at 22-19 with 4:21 to play before half.
 
Parker’s second three of the game tied the game at 22-22, but the Owls scored the final six points of the half to take a 30-23 lead. The Cougars were limited to just two buckets in the final 7:08 and were outscored 16-4. The Cougars shot 31.0 percent (9-29) from the field and had eight turnovers. 
 
Columbia fought back behind five-straight points from Davis to cut the lead to three (32-29) with 17:23 to play. The Cougars took a 39-38 lead after an 8-0 run, connecting on six-straight free-throws.
 
Trailing by one (46-44) with 8:40 to play, the Cougars went on a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach. Burks capped the run with a one-handed fast-break dunk. 
 
Jared Crutcher led William Woods with 13 points, while Nathan Schwartze added 10.
 
NOTES: Columbia leads the all-time series 28-8 … The Cougars won two of three meetings this season with the Owls … CC is 16-2 this season at home … Columbia has won 22 or more games 26 times in school history … The 22 wins are the most since the 2017-18 season.