ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - The Columbus State University men's basketball team earned it's first Peach Belt Conference victory of the season Wednesday night at Flagler College. With the win, CSU improves to 8-5 (1-2 PBC) while Flagler moves to 6-8 (0-3 PBC).

It took a full team effort to defeat the Saints on Wednesday night. The Cougars had contributions from players up and down the roster.

"It was a great team effort," said head coach Robert Moore. "We talk about it all the team as a team and we have to win by committee. We were excited to have everyone healthy, especially Jehloni James. He stepped up when Nelson got into foul trouble, but that's what it's going to take."

A back-and-fourth game saw seven lead changes in which CSU had an answer for every Flagler run. CSU was only one basket made of tying a season high in shots made.

NOTES:

• Daniel Melvin led the way for the Cougars with 18 points
• Grant Howard scored 14 and added six boards to his credit
• James stepped up when his number was called, adding 10 points and four rebounds
• Joshua Jerome added a double-double, scoring 11 points and a season high 12 rebounds
• The Cougars shot 47 percent from the floor and 76 percent from the charity stripe

Up Next:
After starting the new year off with a bang, the Columbus State men's basketball team will look to build on their momentum on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 3:30 p.m. inside the Frank G. Lumpkin, Jr. Center in Columbus. The Cougars will clash with conference foe, Clayton State University.