 Sports News Search Classifieds Cougars play for AMC title
March 2, 2000 
Make it 300 career wins for Columbia College coach Bob Burchard. And what better way to do it than in the playoffs, and what better place to do it than home?The Cougar men’s basketball team made sure this milestone would take place in Southwell Gymnasium as it cruised to 84-68 win against Missouri Baptist in an American Midwest Conference semifinal game Wednesday night. Columbia College (25-7), which is ranked No. 2 in the AMC, has one more game before heading to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. The Cougars will travel to Lebanon, Ill. to take on conference leader McKendree College in the AMC championship Friday night. Cougar shooting guard Jerrod Thompson had the hot hand again as he lit up against the No. 3 Spartans. He made six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 28 points. The 5-foot-10 junior is coming off conference player-of-the-week honors after averaging 31.5 points per game on 69 percent shooting from the field and 65 percent from beyond the arc. “I’m feeling great now,” said Thompson, who also had a game-high six rebounds. “I’ve been able to put together a string of games here that made me more confident and I think some of that is rubbing off on the team.” The Cougars jumped on top of this contest early by going on a 9-2 run and several 6-0 runs to take a 53-32 halftime lead. The Cougars led by as many as 25 points and fought off many Pirate runs. “Columbia is much quicker than us,” Missouri Baptist coach Clyde Wooldridge said. “When you get a 20-point lead at the half, you can cruise the rest of the way.” Although Missouri Baptist (22-11) had the height advantage, it was outrebounded 40-37 by the quicker Cougar lineup. Senior forward Lawrence Thomas had 11 points and added six boards in his final home game. “We just tried to stop them before their guards got to the rim,” Thomas said. “Luckily, most of the times we were able to do it, and that’s why we were successful.” The Pirates relied on their perimeter scorers with forward Cliff Beale scoring 16 and guards Nate Riney and Steve Moss adding 12 and 15 points respectively. The Cougars tore apart the Missouri Baptist zone defense, shot 47 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range, with Thompson hitting on 66 percent of his 3-pointers. “Jerrod responds to challenges well,” Burchard said. “He’s a true competitor and I always felt that your true competitors come to the table. Tonight was a perfect example of that.” Although the Cougars, ranked No. 15 in the NAIA, will make the tournament regardless of the outcome of Friday’s AMC Tournament final, a victory over the NAIA No. 16 McKendree will definitely increase their seeding. “It’s going to be a great game,” Burchard said. “The seeds don’t always turn out the way they’re supposed to, but I’m definitely looking forward to this one.”
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