Men's Basketball Takes On American Saturday Afternoon
11/28/2014 3:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES (.pdf)
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29 • 4 P.M. |
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| (3-1) | (4-2) |
| GAMEDAY INFO | |
| LIVE VIDEO/AUDIO |  |
| ANNOUNCERS | Jerry Recco & James Buford |
| LIVE STATS | |
| IN-GAME UPDATES | @CULionsMBB |
COLUMBIA'S STATUS
The Lions picked up their third straight victory after topping Fairleigh Dickinson, 57-47, Tuesday evening. Columbia shot just 31.8-percent from the floor, but were strong on the offensive boards, scoring 13 second-chance points, and knocked down 22-of-28 from the line. Kyle Castlin led the way with 19 points, converting on 13-of-14 attempts from the charity stripe.
AMERICAN'S STATUS
The Eagles come into Saturday winners of four of their last five. American most recently came away with a 64-60 win at Hampton Wednesday, thanks to an old-fashioned 3-point play from Pee Wee Gardner with 20 seconds to go in regulation. The game featured 11 lead changes and seven ties.
SERIES HISTORY
Columbia and American will meet for the eighth straight season and ninth time overall. The Lions bested the Eagles, 61-47, last November and have won three of the last four meetings to even the series at 4-4.
COLUMBIA VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
Columbia has a rich history playing teams in the Patriot League. The Lions are 124-96 against teams currently in the conference. Columbia's most common opponent is Army, who they have faced 57 times. The Lions will also take on Loyola (Md.), Bucknell and Colgate and have already beaten Lehigh on the road Nov. 23.
BRENNAN RETURNS
American head coach Mike Brennan is no stranger to Levien Gym. Brennan played for Princeton from 1990-94 and served as a volunteer assistant for Columbia during the 1995-96 season under Armond Hill. Following his brief stint with the Lions, Brennan spent seven seasons as Pete Carril's top assistant and most recently was on John Thompson III's staff at Georgetown.
SCHOOL TIES
Bragging rights between multiple pairs of former high school teammates on Saturday. Isaac Cohen and American point guard Justice Montgomery won a pair of Florida State Championships together in 2010 and 2012 with Orlando Christian Prep. Columbia first-year Nate Hickman and the Eagles' George Langberg played together last season at the Peddie School in New Jersey.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
The Lions' defense this season has been superb thus far. They are allowing just 51 points per game, good for 11th in the country, opponents are shooting .204 from downtown, which ranks sixth in the NCAA. Both numbers are also Ivy League standards.
GLUE GUY
Every team needs one and that's what the Lions have in junior Isaac Cohen. The 6-4 guard is currently leading the Ivy League in assists at 5.5 per game and is pulling down 9.3 rebounds per game, good for second in the conference. Cohen has had 10 rebounds in each of the last two contests, becoming the first player to record double-figure rebounds in consecutive games since Mark Cisco hauled in 10 or more in three-straight during Ivy League play in 2012.
KLEPTOMANIAC
Maodo Lo set a new personal standard with five steals against Wagner on Nov. 18. He became the first Lion to record five or more swipes since Brian Barbour was credited with five steals against Brown in March of 2013. He is the early Ancient Eight leader in the category, averaging 3.0 swipes per contest.
THE LIONS' DEN
So far, the Lions are continuing their home dominance with a 2-0 record and have won both games by double figures. Last season, Columbia won 14 games in Levien Gymnasium, the most since the building opened its doors in 1974. In the Kyle Smith era, the Lions are 40-21 in front of their home fans.
JAZZY JEFF
Sophomore Jeff Coby had a breakout game at Lehigh on Nov. 14, notching 16 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for his first career double-double. Both totals marked personal-bests.
CLEANING UP THE GLASS
Isaac Cohen and Jeff Coby each recorded double-figure rebounds at Lehigh on Nov. 14 becoming the first Lion duo to pull down 10+ boards in the same game since Dec. 8, 2008 when Asenso Ampin and Jason Miller recorded 11 each.
LIONS GROUND MOUNTAIN HAWKS
The 44 points allowed at Lehigh on Nov. 14 was the fewest by a Lions' team since a 58-41 win against Penn on Feb. 23, 2013. Columbia also held the Mountain Hawks without a 3-point field goal (0-for-13), marking the first time a Lion opponent failed to register a trey since Michigan State went 0-for-5 on Nov. 15, 2013.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Columbia is 82-32 all-time in home openers and have won six of its last seven debuts in Levien Gymnasium after dispatching Wagner, 70-56, on Nov. 18.
