Coyotes Defeat Cougars on Saturday

Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College men’s basketball team lost 80-69 to (RV) Kansas Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars are now 7-8 on the season, while Kansas Wesleyan improves to 11-2.

The teams split the first 12 points. KWU took a 9-8 lead on a layup which sparked a 7-0 run and gave them the 16-8 advantage. The Coyotes extended the lead to double digits (20-10) at the 10:36 mark. KWU took a 43-26 lead into the locker room.

After the Kansas Wesleyan lead grew to 22 (51-29) with 17:09 remaining, the Cougars began to chip away. A pair of free throws from Tony Burks got the Cougars back within single digits (62-53) with just over 10 minutes remaining. CC would get their deficit down to seven points a couple of times throughout the final ten but could not get any closer as KWU left with an 80-69 win.

Key Moment:
Kansas Wesleyan took a 9-8 lead with 15:31 remaining in the first half and never trailed from that point.

By the Numbers:
4 – CC had four players score in double digits.
49.2 – KWU shot 49.2-percent (30-61) from the field.
11 – Both teams had 11 turnovers.

Columbia Leaders:
Scoring Leader – Kemryn Jenkins (18)
Rebounding Leader – Chima Oduocha (9)
Assist Leader – Tony Burks (4)
Steals Leader – Chima Oduocha (3)

Kansas Wesleyan Leaders:
Scoring Leader – AJ Range (25)
Rebounding Leader – AJ Range (11)
Assist Leader – Jun Murdock (6)
Steals Leader – Jun Murdock (4)

Up Next:
The Cougars host Evangel (Mo.) on Friday, Dec. 31, at 3:00 PM.