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By: Josh Fuller

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – After entering halftime down, the Columbus State University men's basketball team dominated the second half pulling away for an 82-71 victory over Miles Friday evening. The game was a part of the PBC-SIAC Challenge hosted by Montevallo at Trustmark Arena.
 
Miles (0-3) built up a 40-34 halftime lead thanks to shooting over 50 percent from the floor in the first half. However, CSU made halftime adjustments limiting the Golden Bears to just a 32.2 percent mark in the second as the Cougars outscored Miles by 17 in the half to pull out the win.
 
"This was a great game to have early on in the season," commented head coach Robert Moore. "We were down at half, but the guys didn't panic and stuck to the game plan allowing us to grab a big win. We have to get ready tomorrow for a talented Lane team."
 
Columbus State spread the ball around well on Friday as four players scored in double figures. Thanks to an 11-for-13 performance from the free throw line, Rudy Winters had a game-high 17 points. Darius Joell had 14 with five assists, while Marcus Dixon fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards.
 
It wasn't a great opening half for Columbus State as Miles quickly jumped in front and never looked back. The Golden Bears scored the first five points of the game and eventually built up a 17-7 lead just six minutes into the game.
 
CSU didn't let the game get out of hand battling to keep the deficit within single digits. The Cougars chipped the lead all the way down to four (24-20) after a Joell layup at the 8:06 mark.
 
However, the Golden Bears responded with a 12-3 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 36-23 with just under four minutes until halftime. The Cougars kept hanging around and a huge four-point play by John Lambert with five seconds left in the half gave CSU the momentum and cut the lead to just 40-34 after 20 minutes of play.
 
Miles failed to add on to its lead early in the second holding just a 44-40 lead after a dunk by Chauncey Day with 17:47 left.
 
From there, Columbus State went on a quick 12-1 run to take its first lead in the game. JaCori Payne and Winters fueled the run with five and four points, respectively as CSU went in front 52-45. Jamal McKee also nailed a three to cap off the run for the Cougars.
 
Miles was able to keep the margin around seven points until the Cougars started to pull away. A pair of free throws by Joell and a layup by Winters gave CSU its first 10-point (61-51) lead with under eight minutes to play.
 
Columbus State wouldn't be tested for the rest of the game holding a double figure lead for the majority of the final eight minutes. A 5-0 run late in the half gave CSU its largest lead of the game at 82-67.
 
Columbus State shot 40.6 percent (26-for-64) from the floor, but was just 6-for-22 on three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Cougars shot 77.4 percent (24-for-31).
 
The Cougars will be right back in action Saturday taking on Lane at 4 p.m.