Carson and Collin Parker were back together on the basketball court this winter.

This time, the brothers from Montgomery County were teammates of the Columbia College basketball team.

The Parkers were a dynamic duo for the Cougars as they combined to score 576 points and helped their team finish 21-12, its 11th winning season in 12 years.

“On the court, both of them are skilled players and are very smart players,” Columbia coach Tomas Brock said. “They have a good feel for the game. They were a big part of our success this season.”

Collin, a freshman, was Columbia’s third-leading scorer at 10.4 points per game. He was named to the American Midwest Conference all-freshman team and earned honorable mention all-conference recognition. He played all 33 games and scored in double figures in 22 of them, including a 21-point effort against Baptist Bible (Mo.) on Dec. 7.

Carson, a sophomore, also played every game this season. He averaged seven points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Last year, he averaged 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds and scored in double digits 14 times.

“They enjoy playing together and they’re both capable scorers,” Brock said. “But they’re both good passers. They’re willing to share the ball. They really like to pass to each other. It’s part of their chemistry. They grew up their whole lives and played together. They’re very comfortable with each other on the court. I think that translated to the college game as well.”

The last time Carson and Collin played together was during the 2020-21 season, when they helped the Montgomery County boys basketball team win 25 games and an Eastern Missouri Conference championship.

The Parkers turned in strong efforts in their first game as Columbia teammates on Oct. 25. They combined to score 30 points in the Cougars’ 102-57 win over Central Christian College of the Bible at home. Carson finished with a season-best 20 points and eight rebounds and Collin scored 10 points off the bench.

The Parkers helped the Cougars win 13 of their last 15 games to finish with their second 20-win season in three years. Columbia’s season ended with a 66-65 loss to Missouri Baptist in the American Midwest Conference championship game on March 1 in St. Louis.

“We had a good year,” Brock said. “We had a slow start during the first semester. We weren’t quite where we wanted to be, especially on the defensive end of the court. Credit our team. They really worked hard. They got better as the year progressed. They had a really strong finish to the season.”

Carson and Collin were among 12 Columbia players who were named to the all-American Midwest Conference academic team.

“They also both excel in the classroom,” Brock said. “They’re on track to get a degree here.”

Before joining Columbia College, Carson had a strong senior season with the MCHS boys basketball team, earning all-Eastern Missouri Conference and all-district awards and scoring a career-high 424 points.

Collin also ended his high school basketball career at Montgomery County on a high note. He averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds and earned Class 4 all-state honors in his senior season last winter.

Brock said the Parkers have been solid additions to the Columbia basketball program.

“We were excited to recruit Carson two years ago,” Brock said. “He came in right away and had a great freshman year. We knew that when we were recruiting Carson, we became aware of Collin and how good of a player he was. Fortunately, having Carson in our program already made Collin comfortable in the recruiting process. We were able to sign him before his senior year of high school. Collin came in and did the same thing (Carson did). He came in right away as a freshman, was a big part of our team and played a big role right away.”