Men's Basketball 3-15-18
75
Winner Campbellsville (Ky.) CAMP 24-9
66
Columbia (Mo.) CC 27-5
Winner
Campbellsville (Ky.) CAMP
24-9
75
Final
66
Columbia (Mo.) CC
27-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Campbellsville (Ky.) CAMP 31 44 75
Columbia (Mo.) CC 30 36 66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Jordan Alves

Johnson's spark and Coates' leadership leads Tigers past No. 6 Columbia in NAIA First Round

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Tigers held the second-best 3-point shooting team in the country to hitting 29 percent overall and kept the American Midwest Player of the Year, Jackson Dubinski, in check with three points enroute to a 75-66 win in the opening round of the NAIA Championship over No. 6 Columbia College.
 
The Tigers will now play Montana Western on Friday, March 16 at 5 p.m. ET in the Round of 16. The Bulldogs defeated SAGU, 105-96, on Thursday morning. Fans can catch the action on the CU Sports Network, 88.7 The Tiger.
 
Campbellsville (24-10) out-shot the Columbia College (27-5) from the floor, 45 percent to 35 percent but the biggest stat was holding the sharp-shooters in check from long range.
 
Columbia started the game on a 9-0 run and hit two 3-pointers but a quick timeout by coach Brent Vernon cooled the Cougars the rest of the way. Columbia finished hitting 7-of-24 overall from deep with three of those coming in the final 90 seconds of the contest when the Tigers already had the game in the bag.
 
Adam Mennemeyer led the way with three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points, but it was Shawn Johnson sparking Campbellsville after the early timeout. The senior – who is only one of two Tigers that have national tournament experience – hit four Edward Jones 3-point baskets and scored 12 points. In addition, Johnson matched Andrew Smith with a team-high 10 boards.
 
Jalen Coates, who was held to five first-half points, finished with a team-high 15 to lead the Tigers. The senior from Sacramento, Calif. was stellar for CU, finishing with six boards and two assists while hitting 7-of-9 from the free throw line.  
 
In addition to Coates and Johnson, the rest of the starting five scored in double-figures. Hagen Tyler made two 3s and hit four free throws in the final minute to help ice the game and finished with 14 points. Jacob King also had 12, while Smith finished with 12 points – all in the second half.
 
After the quick 9-0 run to start for Columbia, CU would answer and do so in a big way. Trailing 17-7, the Tigers went on a 11-0 run, capped by Tyler's first 3, to take their first lead, 18-17.
 
Campbellsville pushed its lead to as big as four, 30-26, after Coates scored his first field goal at the 2:44 mark in the first half. After trailing 17-7, CU ended the half on a 24-13 run to lead 31-30.
 
In the second half, it didn't take long for Campbellsville to get Smith involved. He scored his first bucket with 18:05 left and was followed by another Tyler triple to give CU a four-point, 36-32 lead.
 
Over the next five minutes, neither team would get ahead by more than two as there were three ties and three lead changes. Adam Stanford uncorked a 38-all tie with 12:55 left and ended up scoring four straight points to give CU a 41-38 lead.
 
Coates then put CU ahead by five, 43-38 at the 11:49 mark – the largest lead thus far.
 
Leading now 45-42, the Tigers would out-score Columbia 10-2 - capped by another Johnson 3-pointer. He gave CU a 54-44 lead with 8:44 left but the Cougars had one final fight in them.
 
Columbia answered with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three, 54-51, but Coates and Smith scored back-to-back field goals to get the Tigers back ahead by seven 58-51 – CU's lead would never get lower.
 
Columbia started to foul with 2:12 left and the Tigers stepped to the line and iced the game. Hagen Tyler hit 4-of-4, while Coates and Smith both made two each and Jacob King hit three in the final 24 seconds.
 
The Tigers will now play Montana Western on Friday evening at 5 p.m. ET in the Round of 16 in the NAIA Championship. Coverage starts at 4:45 p.m. on 88.7 The Tiger.   
 
 
 
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