Saturday Night Showdown With Bucknell Next Up for Men's Basketball
12/4/2014 3:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES (.pdf)
 |
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 • 7 P.M. |
 |
| (4-2) | (3-5) |
| GAMEDAY INFO | |
| TV |  |
| LIVE VIDEO/AUDIO |  |
| ANNOUNCERS | Jerry Recco & Sal Licata |
| LIVE STATS | |
| IN-GAME UPDATES | @CULionsMBB |
COLUMBIA'S STATUS
The Lions erased a nine-point deficit in just 1:22 to tie the game with 28 seconds left in regulation, but Loyola's Eric Laster knocked down a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Greyhounds a 64-62 win Tuesday night. The loss was the first at home for Columbia this season.
BUCKNELL'S STATUS
The Bison have won two of their last three including a 72-66 overtime win against Fairfield Monday night. Bucknell came back from a 12-point deficit in the second half and scored 25 points in the extra session to come away with the victory.
SERIES HISTORY
Columbia and Bucknell will square off for the seventh time on Saturday, dating back to the 1994-95 season. The Bison have taken four of the six meetings and three-straight overall, including a 57-52 decision last year at Sojka Pavillion.
COLUMBIA VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
Columbia has a rich history playing teams in the Patriot League. The Lions are 125-97 against teams currently in the conference. Columbia's most common opponent is Army, who they have faced 57 times. This will be Columbia's third consecutive Patriot League foe and fourth overall.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
The Lions' defense this season has been superb thus far. They are allowing just 51.8 points per game, good for eighth in the country. Columbia opponents are aslo shooting .260 from downtown, which is also an Ivy League standard.
LOCKING IT UP
Columbia has held opponents under 50 points in three straight games from Nov. 23-29 for the first time since 2002 when the Lions did it in four consecutive games from Jan. 15-Feb. 1. (At Albany - L, 40-41, Cornell - W, 56-40, at Cornell - W, 54-42, at Princeton - L, 41-49).
GLUE GUY
Every team needs one and that's what the Lions have in junior Isaac Cohen. The 6-4 guard is currently second in the Ivy League in assists at 5.3 per game and is pulling down 7.3 rebounds per game, which is tied for the best among guards in the Ancient Eight and ninth overall.
MORE ON IKE
Cohen handed out five or more assists in Columbia's first five games this season, the longest stretch for a Columbia player since Brian 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.
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 2.8 swipes per contest.
THE LIONS' DEN
So far, the Lions are continuing their home dominance with a 3-1 record and have won two of the three 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 41-21 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
Columbia held Lehigh 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.
BLOCK PARTY
With his three rejections in the first two games of the season, senior Cory Osetkowski moved into sole possession of fifth place on the all-time block list. He now has 75 for his career and is 26 shy of Jamal Adams, who sits in fourth.
CHRIS ROCKS
Sophomore forward Chris McComber made a strong impression in Columbia's first two games. In his first career start at Stony Brook on Nov. 14, the 6-8 Canadian drilled 4-of-8 from downtown and finished with 13 points in 28 minutes of action. He also added 12 points in 31 minutes against Wagner on Nov. 18. Last season, McComber logged just 13 total minutes on the season after battling mononucleosis early in 2013-14.
