COLUMBUS – The number 19th-ranked Cougars of Columbus State rang in the New Year with a non-conference showing at the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center on Thursday night, welcoming Middle Georgia to Columbus.
 
Columbus State men's basketball (10-1) added another win to their impressive streak on Thursday with a solid performance against the Knights (7-4), downing MGA in a 102-80 victory on Herbert Greene Court.
 
First Half
 
The visitors opened the game with the first two buckets and held a 6-3 edge in the first three minutes while a jumper from Jehloni James and a free throw from Kordell Brown opened the scoring for the Cougars. A trey from Rakeim Gary at the 16:40 mark leveled the game and was the first of a 14-4 run from CSU. Gary netted six points in the run followed by three from Jarrett Adderton and James.
 
After falling to a seven-point deficit, Middle Georgia responded well with a 10-4 run that pulled the CSU lead down to 21-20 with nine minutes to play in the half. Down the stretch, both teams battled in back-and-forth action which saw CSU tilt momentum in their favor with a 14-13 run in the last five minutes. Wisdom Uboh led the final five minutes with nine points from beyond-the-arc as CSU finished the half with a 46-37 lead.
 
Second Half
 
Columbus State opened the game with a 14-10 stretch of scoring as Brown led with nine points and James following with five. The Cougars shifted to a 50-47 advantage with 15:07 to play in the game. CSU surged with a 19-7 run over the next six minutes to lead 79-54. James tallied nine points with Adderton adding five as the Cougars went 7-of-12 from the field with three buckets coming from long range distance.
 
Over the next five minutes, both teams clashed in an even run of 15-15 scoring. Joshua Guilford led the way for CSU with six points to help give the hosts a 94-69 lead with less than five minutes to go. Middle Georgia closed out the game with an 11-8 run of scoring while a free throw from Demetrius Gibson sealed the game with a 102-80 final score.
 
Inside the Numbers

• Uboh scored a career-high seven buckets from beyond-the-arc, shooting 7-of-11 from three to score 21 points while adding on five assists as well.
• James shot 9-of-10 from the field to tally 21 points as well, snagging a leading eight rebounds in the process.
• Brown scored 11 points and snagged five boards while Adderton totaled 11 points and four assists.
• As a team, CSU shot for 58.1% (36-of-62) from the field, 45.7% from three (16-of-35), and 63.6% (14-of-22) from the foul line.
• The Cougars totaled 34 points in the paint with 20 fast break points.
• CSU's bench totaled 52 points as well.
• Middle Georgia gave up 13 turnovers with Columbus State scoring 19 points of MGA's miscues.
• CSU led 37-33 off the glass.

Next Up

• Columbus State begins Peach Belt Conference play on Saturday at Augusta (Ga.) at 3:30 p.m. ET.