Columbia
PENN
Penn Outlasts Columbia 66-64 in Thrilling Ivy League Opener
1/13/2012 9:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK - Zack Rosen scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half as Penn held on to a 66-64 victory at Levien Gym on Friday night in the Ivy League opener for both teams.
Brian Barbour (career-high 25 points) matched Rosen shot for shot in the second half, when he scored 15 of his 25, and his last-second desperation three-pointer after an intentionally missed free throw went just long as Penn secured the two-point win.
Columbia led 27-23 at halftime behind a 12-2 run to end the half, including eight points by Barbour during the stretch.
Penn scored the first eight points of the second half and opened up a 31-27 advantage on a Miles Cartwright three-pointer with 17:32 left.
Penn maintained its lead and extended it to nine points, 59-50, with two minutes remaining after a jumper by Rosen with a defender in his face.
Two free throws by Barbour made it a 59-52 game and then Meiko Lyles buried a three-pointer to get the Lions within four, 59-55, with 1:23 left.
Barbour and Rosenberg each made two free throws after a jumper by Rosen to cut the Quakers' lead to 61-59 with 30 seconds remaining.
Rob Belcore made one of two free throws and Barbour followed with consecutive layups sandwiched around a pair of Tyler Bernardini foul shots as Penn still led by a point with six seconds left.
The Lions fouled Bernardini again, and again the senior sank two free throws with five seconds left, setting up Columbia's final possession.
Chris Crockett brought the ball down court and was quickly fouled by Penn's Cartwright. After making the first free throw, Crockett intentionally missed the second one off the back iron.
Mark Cisco tapped the ball back out to the three-point line, where Barbour gathered it near the left wing. After a dribble and with a defender flying at him, he stepped back and launched an off-balance three-pointer that went just long as the buzzer sounded, giving Penn the win in the league opener.
“It was a good tip out, it was a great play,” Barbour said after the game. “I've just got to hit it.”
Barbour's 25 points came along with six assists against two turnovers. Cisco did not miss a shot, going five of five from the field and two of two from the foul line, for 12 points. Lyles added 11.
For Penn, Bernardini and Cartwright each scored 16 points. Rosen had 15 points and five assists.
"It was an Ivy League game right down to the wire," head coach Kyle Smith after the game. "We were a little anxious, a little tight. Credit to Penn, they played hard and they made some big plays down the stretch."
The Lions, now 11-6 and 0-1 in the league, will next play Princeton, which lost Friday night at Cornell, 67-59. Game time on Saturday night at Levien Gymnasium is 7 p.m. Tickets are available online or by calling 888-LIONS-11. Students are admitted free with Columbia and Barnard ID.
NOTES:
It was the first time the Lions have lost when scoring or allowing 60 or more points ... Steve Egee gave Columbia a lift off the bench with five points and six rebounds ... Columbia made 17 of its 19 free throws ... both teams finished with 26 rebounds ... Penn shot 60 percent from the field in the second half ... Bernardini made 10 of 11 free throws in the game, including nine of 10 in the second half ... the Lions made just three of 19 three-point field goals ... the loss snapped Columbia's four-game win streak and five-game win streak at home.
