Williams Takes Down No. 16 Columbia at Home
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(16) Columbia (MO) (19-3, 7-1) | 26 | 49 | 75 |
|
Williams Baptist (AR) (16-3, 6-2) | 38 | 52 | 90 |
WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (1/31/26) – The Williams Baptist University men's basketball team took its first win over a ranked opponent since 2019 after handing No. 16 Columbia its first loss in American Midwest Conference play by the final score of 90-75 inside the Southerland-Mabee Center on Saturday afternoon.
Deion Wesson led all scorers with 27 points on the night, while Jesse Washington and Aseem Luckey both poured on 22 points. Wesson and Washington each hit three three-pointers in the win. Kylen Kelly led the team on the glass with nine rebounds.
As a team, WBU went 34-for-72 (47.2 percent) from the field while holding Columbia to a 32.9 percent clip on the night. Columbia won the rebound battle 53-42, but WBU dominated in the paint with 48 points.
Both teams were tied at 6-6 after the first five minutes of play until Columbia took the lead on a three-pointer from AJ Walker. The Eagles responded with a 5-0 swing capped off by a three-point play from Jesse Washington. A Luckey layup and Wesson slam put the Eagles ahead by five with 11 minutes left in the first half.
After the Cougars cut the deficit to two points with a pair of free throws with five minutes on the clock, the Eagles finished the half on a 12-2 run capped off by a pair of free throws from Davonta Tucker. WBU went into the locker room ahead 38-26.
The Eagles continued their run out of the locker room, starting the second half on a 9-2 heater to extend the lead to 47-28 and force a Columbia timeout. Williams went up by 20 after a Jesse Washington trey with 14:39 on the clock made it 52-32.
Columbia cut the lead down to 14 with 9:19 with a 9-0 run, but Benjamin Noonan slammed the brakes on the Cougars with a dunk that kicked off a 6-0 swing. Back-to-back triples from Wesson with 3:30 on the clock put the final nail in the coffin for the upset win.
The win moves Williams to 16-3 overall and 6-2 in American Midwest Conference play. Next, WBU will travel to face Crowley's Ridge on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Tipoff against the Pioneers is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Carter Activities Center in Paragould, Ark.