After playing their last regular season game as members of the Columbia College men’s basketball team on Feb. 22, former Montgomery County standouts Carson and Collin Parker were thrilled with the support they got at the Arena of Southwell Complex.

More than 50 people, including family members, friends and former coaches, got to see the Parker brothers play in Columbia’s Senior Day game against Missouri Baptist. Following the game, Carson and Collin took a picture with all of their supporters at the bleachers.

“It felt like all of Montgomery County was here supporting us,” Carson said.

The big support definitely helped the Parker brothers turn in strong performances in the Cougars’ 93-67 win over Missouri Baptist. Collin finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and three blocks and Carson scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench.

“It’s always good to win against a solid team,” Carson said. “Everybody played well as a team. There were a lot of assists and a lot of ball movement.”

The Parkers helped Columbia finish its regular season at 21-7 and earn a No. 3 seed in the American Midwest Conference Tournament. The Cougars will host Crowley’s Ridge College in a quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27.

“It’s always good to win against a solid team,” Carson said. “Everybody played well as a team. There were a lot of assists and a lot of ball movement.”

The Parkers were among nine seniors who were honored before the game. Carson is playing in his fifth and final season at Columbia, while Collin is playing in his fourth. Carson earned an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Five years have flown by,” Carson said. “It went by quickly, but it has been a good five years.”

“It’s great,” Collin said. “A crazy four years have flown by and it was good to end off on a good win.”

The Parkers have been strong performers for the Cougars since they started playing together four years ago. They scored over 3,100 points and helped Columbia reach the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Tournament twice.
Collin reached two big milestones this season. He became Columbia’s all-time leading scorer on Jan. 18 and reached the 2,000-point mark on Feb. 6.

“It’s been fun,” Collin said. “I played with a lot of good players over the four years.”

Against Missouri Baptist, Collin scored 21 points in the first half. He hit six 3-pointers.

“I was having fun,” Collin said. “My teammates were giving me the ball at the right spots.”

With 13:37 left in the first half, the 6-foot-8 Collin received a pass from Carson and hit a trey from the right wing.

“We always look for each other, that’s for sure,” Collin said. “He made a nice pass to me and he got me wide open, so it was a good shot.”

Collin is averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds per game. He has 14 double-doubles this season. He scored in double digits in all 27 games, including a season-high 36 points against Bellevue (Neb.) on Nov. 27.

The 6-foot-7 Carson scored six of his eight points in the second half against Missouri Baptist. He’s averaging five points per game.Carson scored in double digits 14 times this season, including a 24-point effort against Williams Baptist on Jan. 30.

Carson and Collin graduated from MCHS in 2020 and 2021, respectively. When they were teammates with the Wildcats in the 2019-2020 season, they helped their team win 25 games and capture an Eastern Missouri Conference title.

Collin said he and his brother enjoyed their times playing at Columbia.

“It’s been fun,” Collin said. “We had a good atmosphere going, so that’s always good. I’ll miss it for sure.”