Columbia
Cornell
Men's Basketball Hangs On To Edge Cornell, 48-45, in Ivy League Debut
1/17/2015 6:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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ITHACA, N.Y. – The Columbia men's basketball team held off a late Cornell rally to pick up a dramatic, 48-45, win to open up Ivy League play. The Lions (9-6, 1-0) prevailed despite the Big Red holding Maodo Lo scoreless and turning the ball over 23 times.
Sophomore Jeff Coby played a key role in limiting the Big Red's (8-9, 0-1) top scoring threat Shonn Miller to just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting for the game, while scoring 10 points and grabbing nine boards.
Kyle Castlin had a team-high 12 points and Isaac Cohen pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Big Red (8-9, 0-1) held the Lions to just one field goal over the final six minutes and forced a myriad of turnovers to get back into the contest. Columbia's defense also was up to the task, maintaining a two-possession lead until Robert Hatter was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with 29 seconds to play, cutting the deficit to 46-43.
On the other end, the Lions came up empty and another miscue led to Hatter scoring off a layup with 18 seconds. Columbia threw the ball out of bounds on the ensuing inbounds play to give it back to Cornell. Galal Cancer misfired from the short corner and Frankoski extended the margin back up to three after two free throws with six seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Devin Cherry launched a 30-footer from the top of the key that rimmed out as time expired to give the Lions the victory.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start offensively, but the Lions went in front 6-0 on a backdoor layup by Kyle Castlin with 15:07 left in the half. The Big Red missed their first 10 shots from the floor, but hit a trio of free throws and Columbia turnovers kept the game close.
Cornell's JoJo Fallas finally broke the drought with a 3-pointer at the 10:51 mark to make it 9-6 in favor of the Lions. However, Kendall Jackson answered with a trey of his own to halt the Big Red's momentum.
A 7-0 spurt gave the Lions a 19-9 advantage with 5:46 before halftime. Robert Hatter netted six-straight to make it a three-point ballgame just over two minutes later, but Columbia's press break helped them get transition buckets as they took a 27-17 lead into the break.
The second half was much of the same with teams struggling to get baskets to fall, allowing the Lions to remain in front by as many as 12 on several occasions. With the score 39-27 in favor of Columbia, Miller finally got on the board with seven points during a 9-0 run to pull his squad within three at the 7:51 marker.
A Lo steal led to a fast-break layup for Castlin to end the rally and Steve Frankoski buried a triple from the right wing to make it 44-36 with 6:01 on the clock before Cornell's frantic comeback bid.
The Lions held Cornell to 25 percent shooting from the field and outrebounded the Big Red, 36-28.
Hatter led all scorers with 17 points.
Columbia completes its home-and-home series with Cornell next Saturday, January 24 in Levien Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for the game and can be purchased by clicking here. Fans can also catch the action live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
