Men's Basketball Closes 2014 With Road Tilt at St. Francis Brooklyn
12/29/2014 1:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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TUE., DEC. 30 - 7 P.M. |
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| (7-4) | (5-7) |
| GAMEDAY INFO | |
| LIVE VIDEO | NEC Front Row |
| LIVE AUDIO |  |
| ANNOUNCERS | Jerry Recco & James Buford |
| LIVE STATS | |
| IN-GAME UPDATES | @CULionsMBB |
QUICK HITS
COLUMBIA'S STATUS
The Lions had to hold off a late rally, but came away with a 69-64 win against Colgate Sunday. The Raiders trimmed a 12-point deficit to just three in under 90 seconds, but clutch foul shooting allowed Columbia to prevail. Columbia held a 33-16 edge on the boards, including a 13-3 advantage on the offensive glass.
ST. FRANCIS' STATUS
The Terriers have had seven days off since their 71-46 road romp of Monmouth on Dec. 23. St. Francis has won three of its last four outings and have been a superb rebounding team this season, averaging 40.3 per contest and have +7.3 rebounding margin over its opponents.
SERIES HISTORY
Columbia and St. Francis Brooklyn will meet for the 19th time in a series that dates back to 1930-31. The Lions are 10-8 all-time against the Terriers, including an 81-61 win last January in Levien Gym.
COLUMBIA AGAINST THE NEC
Against schools currently in the Northeast Conference, the Lions hold a 35-22 all-time record. St. Francis Brooklyn is Columbia's most common NEC foe. This will be the last of three games against NEC programs. The Lions topped Wagner in their season opener and FDU on Nov. 25.
MOBB DEEP
In Columbia's last three games, the Lions' bench has outscored its opponents' reserves, 79-16. Against Hofstra Columbia held a 33-4 edge in bench points. At UConn, the trio of Jeff Coby, Steve Frankoski and Luke Petrasek teamed up for 27 of Columbia's 29 bench scoring. The Lions posted a 17-0 edge in bench points, including 13 from Frankoski, in their win over Colgate.
TRENDING UPWARD
After a slow shooting start, Columbia looks like it is returning to its 2013-14 form, converting on .438 of its attempts from the field and .375 from beyond the arc in its last five games.
FRANKIE SAYS RELAX
A big reason for the Lions' spike in shooting has been the play of Steve Frankoski. In his last three games, the co-captain is averaging 11.7 points off the bench, while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 9-of-18 from beyond the arc. His hot stretch has moved him up to sixth on the all-time 3-point field goal list (142) and is nine shy of cracking the top-five.
GLUE GUY
Every team needs one and that's what the Lions have in junior Isaac Cohen. The 6-4 guard is currently leads the Ivy League in assists at 4.9 per game and is pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game, which is the best among guards in the Ancient Eight.
MORE ON IKE
Cohen's 10 assists against Colgate was the most for a Lion since Brian Barbour posted 12 against Elon on Dec. 29, 2012. He also handed out five or more assists in Columbia's first five games this season, the longest stretch for a Columbia player since Barbour accomplished the feat in six-straight spanning two seasons (last five games of 2011-12 and first game of 2012-13). The Orlando, Florida, native also had 10 rebounds in back-to-back contests against Lehigh and FDU, 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.
SWITCHING IT UP
Columbia changed its starting lineup for the first time against Colgate on Dec. 28, inserting Jeff Coby into the first five in place of Chris McComber.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
The Lions' defense this season has been superb thus far. They are allowing 57.0 points per game and Columbia opponents are aslo shooting .300 from downtown. Both are tops in the Ivy League.
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 currently leading the Ancient Eight and is 16th in the NCAA in the category, averaging 2.5 swipes per contest.
THE LIONS' DEN
So far, the Lions are continuing their home dominance with a 6-1 record and have won three of those games by double figures. Last season, Columbia won 14 games in Levien Gymnasium, the most since the building opened its doors in 1974. The Lions are now 20-5 at home in the last two years and in the Kyle Smith era, they are 43-21.
SWISHING AND DISHING
Columbia has been in the Holiday Spirit in its last three home games. Against Bucknell on Dec. 6, the Lions posted 15 assists on 22 field goal makes. They followed that up with a season-best 17 assists on 25 baskets against Hofstra Dec. 20 and dished out 16 assists on 25 makes against Colgate on Dec. 28.
CHAIRMAN MAODO
Junior Maodo Lo tied a career-high with 29 points to lift Columbia to a five-point win over Hofstra Dec. 20. Lo's seven 3-pointers tied a Levien Gym record and matched the second most makes from beyond the arc in a single-game for the program. The Berlin native's 15 tries from 3-point land was the most attempts by any Lion in program history.
