WILSON, N.C. - The Columbus State University men's basketball team is set to start the 2023-24 season on Friday, Nov. 10 at Barton College's 45 Second Classic in Wilson, N.C. The Cougars will open the season against Barton at 7 p.m. Friday night.

Columbus State was ranked sixth in the 2023-24 Peach Belt Conference preseason poll with 43 points, just three points shy of conference rival Flagler College who took the fifth spot. CSU had the second best scoring defense in the conference last year and head coach Robert Moore emphasizes that the team will go into this season with the same defensive strategy.

"We've improved offensively this year, but we are still going to use the same principles for defense that we did last year," said Moore. "The key for us this season is to go out and play Columbus State basketball."

The Cougars posted a 16-14 overall record in 2022-23 and an 8-10 PBC record. Columbus State made it to the PBC tournament semifinals after upsetting North Georgia in the first round 74-69.

CSU is returning four key players from last season: Jehloni James, Joshua Jerome, Wisdom Uboh and Roman Son. James averaged 8.0 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. Jerome also averaged 4.9 rebounds per game and marked 5.6 points per game. Uboh and Son are crucial guards, as Uboh recorded a .421 field goal percentage and was .417 in three-point range. Son averaged .326 in the field and .333 behind the arc.

SCOUTING BARTON

• The Bulldogs were 17-12 overall in 2022-23
• Donaven Hairston returns for Barton, who averaged 16.8 points per game last season, as well as Trevon Spencer who averaged 11.9 
• Defensively, Jarrian Hancock averaged 5.8 rebounds per game and is also back for the Bulldogs

Columbus State will also play the University of Mount Olive on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.

SCOUTING MOUNT OLIVE

• Mount Olive posted an overall record of 13-18 last season
• Shane Peterson returns for the Trojans, averaging 10.6 points per game in 2022-23
• Peterson also was one of the defensive leaders, averaging 3.4 rebounds per game

Live statistics and live video for both games can be found here.