POINT_LOOKOUT, Mo. - College of the Ozarks (2-0) broke the game open with a 9-0 first-half run and defeated Ecclesia College (0-5) 107-66 on Saturday, in Point Lookout, Missouri. Garrett Snyder scored 20 of the Bobcats’ 55 first-half points.

Brenley Hagewood made the Bobcats’ first two baskets, both 3-pointers, with the opener coming after Bryce Butler grabbed an offensive rebound and supplied the assist. Themba Tshuma followed with a layup and one accompanying free throw for a 9-2 advantage. Snyder turned a steal into a layup to make it 17-4, and Brady Reynolds capped the decisive early run with a basket for a 26-6 lead with 10:01 remaining.

Snyder later hit two 3-pointers in 29 seconds, both assisted by Butler, to push the margin to 35-11. Tyler Jeremiah’s 3-pointer with 1:51 left gave the Bobcats their largest first-half lead at 51-16. Ecclesia closed the half with nine of the final 13 points, including Jayden Blair’s basket at the buzzer, to make it 55-25.

Ecclesia twice trimmed the deficit to 27 in the second half, the latter on Jace Galvez’s 3-pointer off a Jordan Abram assist with 14:56 remaining. Butler answered with a 3-pointer after Jaiden Wilson secured an offensive rebound and passed out to Butler. Sammy Smith added a putback and one accompanying free throw as the Bobcats built the lead to 84-44. Blair’s 3-pointer capped an 8-0 Ecclesia response, but Hagewood scored the first five points of a 13-0 answer. Smith completed that surge by making both free throws with 6:03 left for a 97-52 advantage.

Snyder finished with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds and two steals. Butler supplied 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Hagewood scored 14 points with three 3-pointers. Smith contributed 12 points and six rebounds, including five offensive boards. Reynolds scored 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting and collected six rebounds in 10 minutes, and Andrew Dalton added seven rebounds.

The Bobcats outrebounded Ecclesia 54-13, collected 20 offensive rebounds and held a 26-0 edge in second-chance points. They shot 37-of-65 from the field (56.9%) and 12-of-26 from 3-point range (46.2%), with 45 points coming from the bench. Ecclesia shot 38.6% but recorded 10 steals and committed 12 turnovers to the Bobcats’ 14. Blair led Ecclesia with 20 points, and Abram added 17, with each scoring 14 after halftime.

Tyler Moore took the Bobcats past 100 with a 3-pointer assisted by Gabe Spray at 3:50. Moore’s second 3-pointer with 2:33 remaining supplied the Bobcats’ final points and their largest lead, 107-60. Ecclesia scored the final six points, with Ta-Quan Owens making 1-of-2 free throws with 26 seconds left to complete the scoring.

The Bobcats travel to Evangel University on Wednesday, November 11for a 7:30 PM contest in Springfield.