Men’s Basketball Wins Third-Straight

Columbia, Mo. – The Columbia College men’s basketball lead from start to finish in a 19-point win over Health Sciences & Pharmacy (Mo.) on Tuesday night. The Cougars defeated the Eutectics, 76-57. 
 
The Cougars have won three straight and are now 17-11 overall and 11-3 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC). Currently, the team holds a one-game lead over William Woods (Mo.) for the second-seed in the upcoming AMC tournament. Each team has two games remaining. 
 
UHSP falls to 5-9 in conference play and 9-16 overall. They currently hold the No. 6 spot in the AMC standings. 
 
Things started slow for both teams, as the game’s first basket came at the 17:50 mark, a layup from Tony Burks. Columbia would score the first eight points of the game. A Trendon Tisdale three-pointer with 1:23 left in the half gave the Cougars their largest lead of the first half at 18 (33-15). Columbia took a 15-point advantage (33-18) into the locker room. 
 
The Euts climbed back within eight points midway through the second half, forcing a Columbia timeout. The Cougars came out of the timeout and went on an 11-5 run to extend the lead to 14 (59-45) with 7:52 left. UHSP would score a bucket to cut the lead to nine, but that was as close as they would come. A triple from Kemryn Jenkins extended the Cougar lead to a game-high 20 points (76-56) with 49-seconds left, and the Cougars cruised to the 19-point win, 76-57. 
 
Key Moment:
After UHSP cut the Cougar lead to seven early in the second half, a 9-2 run by the Cougars extended their lead back to 14. 
 
By the Numbers:
19 – The Cougars scored 19 points off turnovers.
40 – Columbia led for all 40 minutes of the game. 
36 – Each team scored 36 points in the paint
 
Columbia Leaders:
Scoring Leader – Tony Burks (19)
Rebounding Leader – Beau Washer (12)
Assist Leader – Tony Burks (3)
Steals Leader – Kemryn Jenkins (15)
 
Health Sciences & Pharmacy Leaders:
Scoring Leader – Jason Udolisa (22)
Rebounding Leader – Jason Udolisa (7)
Assist Leader – Mason Bailey / Grant Harper (4)
Steals Leader – Mason Bailey / Grant Harper / RJ Wright / Trevyn Dugar / Will Feese (1)
 

Up Next:
Columbia’s final two regular-season games are on the road, as they travel to Arkansas to face Central Baptist (Ark.) on Thursday, Feb. 17, followed by a matchup with Williams Baptist (Ark.) on Saturday, Feb. 19 to close out the regular season.