Saturday, Park and Columbia will renew a rivalry that dates back to the 1970s when the Cougars visit Breckon Sports Center at 4 p.m. (Photo Courtesy Cindy Fotti, Columbia College)

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PARKVILLE, Mo. – The No. 24-ranked Park University men’s basketball team will renew a long-time American Midwest Conference rivalry Saturday afternoon at Breckon Sports Center, as the Pirates host Columbia College at 4 p.m.

Park (15-7, 8-1 AMC) is looking for its second-straight league victory after defeating Missouri Baptist by 23 on Thursday night, and a season sweep of Columbia is also on the line after the teams met Jan. 9, when Park picked up a 94-68 victory in its 2009-10 AMC opener.

Columbia is 3-5 in the AMC and tied for fourth place with Williams Baptist and Missouri Baptist, and Thursday night, the Cougars defeated Williams, 75-51, avenging an earlier loss to the Eagles in Walnut Ridge, Ark. The win improved Columbia’s record to 9-15, overall.

Kyle Rausch led Park in its victory Thursday night with 20 points and 13 rebounds, upping his season scoring average to 8.4 points per game and his rebounding average to 6.1. Herschel Rodgers leads Park in both categories, averaging 16.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and Terrell Dyer adds 10.4 points per game to a Park offense that averages 76.5 points per game, including 86 points per game in the AMC.

Goldeng Deng, Tyler Price and Reco Anderson all average near seven points per contest for the Pirates, and Price is the team’s top 3-point threat, knocking down 43 triples in the 2009-10 season.

Derrick Howard helps set the offense with 68 assists on the year, and he also leads the team defensively with 59 steals. Rodgers adds to the defense with 50 steals, and as a team, the Pirates have turned opponents over 460 times on the year.

Columbia will attempt to counter the Park defense with an offense averaging 64.8 points per game, led by Chad Thompson’s 14.6 points per game, followed by 8.5 points from Kansas City-native Quintin Totta. Taylor Evans, Jaron Strickland and Greg Stegeman average eight points each, for the Cougars, who shoot 41.4-percent as a team.

Park shoots 46.5-percent as a unit, and the Pirates are outrebounding opponents 35-33, on average, while Columbia averages 32 rebounds and gives up 34.

Saturday’s game can be watched live, online, at www.park.edu/sportslive.

COLUMBIA LOOKING FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT
Columbia College comes into Saturday’s game at Breckon Sports Center in search of its third-straight victory after knocking off Williams Baptist by 24 points Thursday night at the Southwell Complex.

The Cougars also got a win, Saturday, over William Woods by a count of 74-56.

MOBAP GAME NOTES
- Park University hit the 80-point mark for the sixth time in nine conference games, Thursday night, scoring 86 points at Missouri Baptist. The game also marked the seventh conference win for the Pirates with at least a 20-point spread, with the only win inside 20 points coming at Harris-Stowe, 68-65.

- Kyle Rausch had a break-out game for Park on Thursday, notching his first-ever collegiate double-double with career highs in points (20) and rebounds (13). Rausch also posted a career-high for field goals, knocking down nine baskets, and he matched his career-high for assists with three, a total also reached earlier this season at Harris-Stowe.

- Goldeng Deng also added a pair of career-high totals in the game against MoBap, scoring a career-best 19 points while also matching Rausch from the field, hitting 9-of-13.

- A game after scoring 20 points against McKendree, Terrell Dyer distributed the ball on Thursday Night, dishing out six assists to go with his 10 points.

- Thursday’s win over Missouri Baptist was the second in nine days for the Pirates over the Spartans after last Tuesday’s 105-65 win in Parkville. The win also put the Pirates up one game in the all-time series, as Park took a 21-20 lead in the 41-game series.

- Park used its seventh different starting lineup of the 2009-10 season Thursday, going with Derrick Howard, Goldeng Deng, Terrell Dyer, Herschel Rodgers and Kyle Rausch against the Spartans.

DOWN THE STRETCH
Park will play four of its last six games at home in the final month of the regular season, beginning Saturday against Columbia. After the game with the Cougars, Park will take seven days off before a non-conference rematch from earlier this year, when Central Bible comes to Breckon Sports Center Feb. 13 at 1 p.m.

The Pirates defeated CBC in November, 86-48, in Springfield, Mo. After CBC, which marks the final non-conference game of the regular season, a three-game week ensues, as Harris-Stowe State visits on Tuesday, Feb. 16, followed by a road contest two days later at William Woods, and wrapping up at home Feb. 20 against Hannibal-LaGrange for Senior Day.

All of the games in the three-game week are conference rematches from earlier this season, with Park owning wins in all three previous meetings. The Pirates beat Harris-Stowe, 68-65, on Jan. 19 before defeating William Woods, 89-66, Jan. 21 at Breckon Sports Center. The Pirates went on the road, Jan. 23, to beat Hannibal-LaGrange, 83-59.

The regular season concludes Feb. 27 at McKendree University.