COLUMBUS - Columbus State men's basketball welcomed a new face to the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center on Tuesday night, hosting NAIA opponent Reinhardt (Ga.) for a nighttime matchup in Columbus.
 
The Cougars (8-1) rolled over the Eagles (6-6) in a dominant victory, chasing a longstanding program record from beyond-the arc in what resulted in a 114-77 win on Herbert Greene Court. CSU marked a season-best 19 made three-point buckets on Tuesday night to continue the program's best start since the 2021-22 season.
 
First Half
 
CSU opened with a 7-2 run to claim the lead early before Reinhardt answered with a 7-0 run to capture a 9-7 advantage. Columbus State moved into an eight-point edge with treys from Jehloni James and Jarrett Adderton leading the run, but the lead disappeared into a two-point deficit. Reinhardt sparked a run that claimed a 27-25 lead with 9:54 on the clock.
 
The Cougars quickly shifted back into control with a seven-point swing led by a trey from Joshua Guilford to reclaim a 32-27 lead with 8:15 to play. After an "and-one" play from the Eagles, a three-pointer from Harp Hunter at the 7:27 mark sparked a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to boost the Cougars' advantage to 12 points.
 
Reinhardt fought back to cut the deficit down to a 42-38 CSU lead, however the Cougars closed out the final three minutes with a 14-6 run led by six points from Roman Son and four from Adderton and a three-pointer from James to seal the half shut. James' long-range bucket with just a couple of ticks on the clock gave CSU a 56-44 lead at the half.
 
Second Half
 
The Cougars quickly surged to a 67-44 lead to open the second half with an 11-0 run led by six points from beyond-the-arc from Rakeim Gary. Columbus State continued to pour in buckets, furthering the gap between the Eagles and eventually rolling out of reach for the remainder of the game.
 
Columbus State took the next seven or so minutes to outscore Reinhardt 22-14, moving to a 31-point cushion with less than 11 minutes to play. Both teams finished out the game with back and forth play as CSU held a 25-20 scoring advantage in the final 10 minutes, securing the 114-77 victory.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Columbus State finished shooting for a season-best 56.8% (42-of-74) from the field, a season second-best 51.4% (19-of-37) from three, and 68.8% (11-of-16) from the foul line.
• A total of five Cougars reached double-digit points with Adderton totaling yet another game in the 20s, scoring 21 points with a pair of assists as well.
• James went 3-for-4 from three and scored 18 points while notching six rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals.
• Guilford followed with 14 points and a team-leading seven rebounds with Gary just behind with 13 points.
• Son finished the night with 10 points and led the team alongside Wisdom Uboh with five assists apiece.
• The offense for CSU tallied a season-high 19 three-pointers which is three off of the program record 22 made back in the 1990-91 season.
• CSU's defense totaled seven steals on 10 Reinhardt turnovers, scoring 19 points off turnovers.
• Columbus State crashed the boards and led 42-36 in rebounding.
• The Cougars have marked the program's best start since the 2021-22 season with an 8-1 record and a six-game winning streak.

Next Up

• Columbus State stays in Columbus and will welcome Young Harris (Ga.) to the Lumpkin Center on Friday morning for an 11 a.m. ET tipoff for Muscogee County School District Elementary Day.