Williams Falls to Columbia in Road Bout

COLUMBIA, Mo. (12/3/25) – The Williams Baptist University men's basketball team had a late comeback bid fall short on the road against Columbia by the final score of 59-54 on Wednesday night inside the Arena of Southwell Complex.

Jesse Washington led scoring for the Eagles with 16 points, and led on the boards with seven rebounds.  Deion Wesson followed with 13, and Benjamin Noonan added 11 points off the bench.  

WBU went 18-of-54 (33.3 percent) from the field and 5-of-20 (25.0 percent) from three-point range.  CC led in rebounds, 48-39.

Rico Quinton scored the first basket of the game to kick off a 9-3 run to start the game.  The Cougars responded with an 11-1 swing to take a 14-10 lead with 11:40 left in the first half.  Columbia extended its lead to 29-19 to end the first half.

The Eagles started the second half with a nine-point swing, capped off by a layup from Kylen Kelly to cut the lead to three with 17:25 to play.  CC got back out to a 36-28 lead, but Benjamin Noonan hit two threes in a row to cut the lead back to two points.

With 2:36 to play, a Cougar free throw made the Columbia advantage 55-47.  Out of a timeout, a Rico Quinton bucket cut into the lead.  With 0:51 left, Deion Wesson went coast to coast with a steal and a layup to make it a one-possession game at 55-52.  CC turned the ball over on the other end, but WBU missed the game-tying three.  The Cougars hit their free throws to ice the game and hand Williams its first loss of the season.

The Eagles' season-opening win streak is snapped at seven wins, as WBU drops to 7-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play on the season.  Williams will return to the floor Saturday, Dec. 6, on the road against Arkansas Baptist.  Tipoff against the Buffaloes is set for 3 p.m. in Little Rock, Ark.