Columbia
COLGATE
Men's Basketball Survives Late Rally to Defeat Colgate
12/28/2014 3:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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NEW YORK - Colgate cut a 12-point deficit to three in the final 90 seconds, but solid free throw shooting gave Columbia the 69-64 win over Colgate in Levien Gymnasium Sunday, December 28.
Maodo Lo led four Lions (7-4) in double figures with 15 points, while Isaac Cohen Finished just shy of a double-double with five points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
With Columbia surging late, the Raiders (3-10) started to foul and apply full-court pressure, yet Jeff Coby's foul shots gave the Lions a 65-53 lead with 1:30 to play.
Colgate's Austin Tilotson started the rally with an old-fashioned 3-point play nine seconds later and forced a turnover on the ensuing possession. Tilotson came up big again with a trey with 1:05 to go, but Lo converted from the line to restore the eight-point cushion with 42 seconds on the clock.
However, Ethan Jacobs drilled his fifth triple of the game to make it 42-35 and after two more Columbia miscues pulled within 67-64 with 17 seconds remaining. The Raiders came up with another turnover and had a chance to tie, but Jacobs 40-foot try with eight seconds left went off the back iron. Lo pulled down the rebound and sank two more from the charity stripe to preserve the win.
The Raiders came out red-hot from the floor, hitting their first four shots of the game and jumping out to a 14-9 lead with 13:22 to go in the first half. From there, the Lions ripped off a 7-2 run to take a two-point lead after Cohen stepped into a 3-pointer from the right wing with 10:47 left in the frame.
The teams traded buckets over the next four minutes until Lo caught fire, scoring eight-straight to put Columbia ahead, 29-25, with 4:33 remaining in the period. However, Colgate closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a two-point lead into the locker room.
First-year Kyle Castlin sparked the Lions to start the second half, scoring eight of his 10 points in the first five minutes of the second half to put Columbia in front, 41-39. Steve Frankoski opened up the advantage to 48-41 with one of his three triples of the afternoon at the 12:07 mark to cap a 10-2 run.
The Lions continued to lead by three possessions most of the way, thanks to six big points from Cory Osetkowski, until the Raiders' late comeback bid.
The Raiders shot the ball extremely well, converting on 52.2 percent from the floor and 53.3 (8-of-15) percent from downtown. Columbia was strong on the glass, outrebounding Colgate 33-16 for the game.
Columbia will make the short trip to Brooklyn Heights to take on St. Francis Brooklyn on Tuesday, December 30 at 7 p.m.. Fans can catch the action live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
Game notes: Cohen is the first Lion to record 10 assists in a game since Brian Barbour posted 12 against Elon Dec. 29, 2012… Columbia went 10-of-12 from the foul line for the game… The Lions improve to 6-1 at Levien Gym… Columbia's bench outscored the Raiders' reserves 17-0.
