Columbia Men Ease Past SMC 69-51

SPARTANBURG, SC - The Columbia College men's basketball team controlled their AAC matchup with Spartanburg Methodist College from start to finish Wednesday night en route to a 69-51 win.

The Koalas (3-3, 1-0 AAC) placed three players in double figures — senior guard Tae Burton with 18 points, senior wing Thomas Whitley with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a block and junior point guard Austin Harrell with 11 points, four assists and seven rebounds. CC shot 54% from the field and outrebounded SMC, 42-31. Burton shot 7 of 11 overall and 3 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc while sophomore forward Zach Smith also chipped in seven points and six rebounds.

A 3-pointer by guard Alileyon Ford with 10:30 left in the first half gave the Koalas a 15-14 lead, sparking a 14-0 first half run that held the Pioneers scoreless for more than four minutes as Columbia pulled away for the win. Ford finished with three points and three rebounds off the bench while junior forward Chandler O'Bannon also added seven rebounds and five points with two assists, a steal and a block as well. Senior forward Nakia Johnson also posted 7 points, seven boards and a block in the win.

Columbia led 35-24 at the halftime break before outscoring the Pioneers 34-27 in the second half for the conference victory. CC then led by as much as 26 points in the second half (61-35) on a Burton three with just over 7 minutes to play as they cruised to the win.

CC shot an impressive 54% overall from the floor and nearly 44% from three while SMC (4-2, 0-1) shot just 28.5% overall and only 17.5% percent from three.