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By:
Josh FullerCOLUMBUS – Three Columbus State University men's basketball players scored over 20 points as the Cougars rolled to a 99-80 victory over the Army All-Stars Thursday. The exhibition contest took place inside the Lumpkin Center.
Cam Baker led all Cougar scorers with 25 points while
Brent Jackson and
DeMarcus McVay netted 21 and 20 points, respectively.
"The guys shot the ball very efficiently tonight and that's good to see against actual competition rather than against one another in practice," commented CSU head coach
Robert Moore.
"We have to work on taking care of the ball a little better and also on our post defense."
Columbus State never trailed in the game as
Cam Baker knocked down a three-pointer on the first shot of the game and the Cougars never looked back. Baker was the CSU offense over the first six-plus minutes of action. The senior scored 14 of the first 16 Cougar points as CSU led by as many as eight early in the contest.
The lead ballooned to 16 as
Matthias Sigurdarson nailed down his second three-pointer of the first half.
The Army All-Stars didn't quit, however, as they trimmed the lead down to 11 with 2:10 left in the opening half. The All-Stars had a 9-2 run with Denzell Hosch and Mamadou Seck leading the way. Hosch started the run with a pair of free throws before laying a bucket in. Seck would then pick up the slack, scoring a bucket and then finishing the run off with a three-point play after being fouled on a successful layup.
Jackson would give CSU a 14-point halftime lead (47-33) after hitting a three-pointer right before the buzzer.
After the break, the Cougars would continue to add to their lead, eventually building an 18-point advantage with 16:39 to go in the contest thanks to a McVay mid-range jumper.
The Army All-Stars were able to cut the lead to 13 (63-50) with 11:13 showing on the clock before the Cougars went on a 7-1 run to extend the lead back to 19.
Darren Daniel began the run with a jumper, while
Brentine Taylor capped it off with a three-point play.
JaCori Payne also hit a pair of free throws during the run.
With just over seven minutes to play, the Army All-Stars put together one last run to try and get back in the game. After an Omar Barlett three-point play, the All-Stars got back-to-back three-pointers by Hosch to make it a 83-75 CSU lead with just 4:29 to go.
However following Hosch's last three-pointer, Jackson went down the court and hit one of his own to ice the game and end all momentum for the Army squad.
The Cougars ended the game on a 10-2 run to cap off the exhibition.
To go with his 21 points, Jackson had a team high seven rebounds. The senior was 6-of-9 from the field, including a 3-for-4 mark from three-point range. McVay also had a good night shooting the ball going 10-for-13 while also recording five rebounds and three blocks.
Seck led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-14 shot attempts. He also had seven rebounds and four steals. Hosch chipped in with 23 points.
As a team, CSU shot 57.1 percent (36-for-63) from the field, including going 8-for-17 from three-point range. The Army All-Stars shot 42.4 percent (28-for-66) while only making six of their 29 three-pointers.
Columbus State will open the 2015-16 campaign on Saturday, Nov. 14 against Middle Georgia State. The contest will tip off at 1 p.m. inside the Lumpkin Center.
