NEW YORK - Columbia left little doubt to the outcome on Monday night, shooting 63 percent from the field in a 108-74 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore in the Lions' home opener, marking the first career victory for Columbia head coach Kyle Smith.
Columbia scored the first seven points of the game, two on a Brian Grimes bucket and five from Brian Barbour, setting the tone for the rest of the contest.
After that, Steve Frankoski introduced himself to the Levien Gym faithful. The rookie nailed five three-pointers in a seven-minute stretch midway through the first half, capping his run by stealing the inbounds pass then laying it in to give the Lions a 38-15 lead at the nine-minute mark. Frankoski scored all 19 of his points during that stretch.
Columbia led 57-26 at halftime, shooting 65.6 percent from the field while also getting it done on the defensive end, holding the Hawks to just 34.4 percent from the field.
Columbia continued its hot shooting in the second half, hitting 60.7 percent from the field, pushing its lead to as many as 38 points during the half.
The closest Maryland-Eastern Shore came in the second half was 24 points, at 93-69, with four minutes remaining.
Six different players scored in double figures for the Lions, paced by Frankoski's 19. Noruwa Agho had another strong all-around effort with 17 points and six assists while Brian Barbour was steady again at the point with 14 points and five assists.
Max Craig added a career-best 15 points and five rebounds, Asenso Ampim finished with 11 points and nine rebounds and first-year Dyami Starks had a strong game in his second collegiate contest with 12 points, including three of four from three-point range.
Three players - Dishawn Bradshaw, Hillary Haley and Tyler Hines - had 11 points each to pace Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Columbia is back in action on Wednesday, November 17 at St. John's at Carnesecca Arena at 8 p.m.
NOTES:
The 108 points is the most scored by a Columbia team in its home opener at Levien Gym ... it is also the most points Columbia has scored against a Division I team at Levien Gym ... Columbia's scoring record at Levien is 109 points in a 109-63 win at Polytechnic on December 29, 2007 ... Columbia last scored 100 points at Wagner last season in a 102-91 win ... of the 15 Columbia players who saw action on Monday night, 13 scored ... Columbia outrebounded Maryland-Eastern Shore 26-7 in the first half and 44-21 for the game ... the Lions controlled the offensive glass for the second straight game, totaling 16 boards to 12 for the Hawks ... Kevin White had nine assists without a turnover for Maryland-Eastern Shore ... three recent men's basketball alumni, Brett Loscalzo '08, Dan Trepanier '09 and Patrick Foley '10 were in the Levien Gym crowd ... Noruwa Agho has 13 assists over his first two games ... Brian Barbour has 10 assists with just one turnover in the first two games .... Brian Grimes added six points, four assists and four rebounds in 15 minutes ... Columbia has won six of its last seven home openers ... the Lions won their 204th game all-time at Levien Gym ... Columbia fans can follow color commentator Dalen Cuff '06 online during the St. John's game and tweet questions and comments to Dalen during Wednesday night's radio broadcast @DCuff21.
