NEW YORK – The Columbia men's basketball team used a staunch effort on the glass and had five players score in double-figures to coast to a 107-62 victory over Kean Friday. First-year CJ Davis scored 19 points to lead the way in his collegiate debut.
The Lions pulled down 60 rebounds, the most for the program since Nov. 28, 2011 when they recorded 50 boards against Swarthmore, and had 30 offensive rebounds. Alex Rosenberg led the way with 10 to go with 10 points in his first game back after recovering from an injury that kept him out the entire 2014-15 campaign.
With the score deadlocked, 9-9, Columbia ripped off eight-straight to take an eight point lead with 11:52 left in the first half and never trailed again. Maodo Lo put the exclamation point on the first half, hitting a step-back 3-pointer as time expired to give Columbia a 48-29 advantage at the break.
The Cougars came out of the locker room and hit their first three shots, cutting the deficit to 13 with 18:56 remaining when Grant Mullins took over. Mullins, who also missed last season due to injury, went on an 8-0 run on his own to restore a comfortable, 56-35, margin just over a minute later.
Davis picked up the bulk of the scoring the rest of the way, knocking down four treys in the final 10:33 as Columbia coasted to the win.
Nate Hickman chipped in with a career-high 15 points to lead the Lions' bench, who scored 65 points for the game. Lo picked up 13 points and Mullins finished with 11.
Columbia returns to action Monday, Nov. 16 when they travel to Kansas State for the first-ever meeting between the programs. Game time is slated for 9 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
NOTES: The Lions recorded 10 blocks, the most in a single-game since recording 10 against Brown on Feb. 15, 2002… Lo is now just four made 3-pointers shy of breaking Columbia's all-time record of 189, held by Matt Shannon… The 45-point margin of victory was the most lopsided win in a season-opener for the Lions since a 95-37 win over CCNY to open the 1968-69 season… Columbia had just one player record a double-double last season (Jeff Coby at Lehigh – 16 points, 12, rebounds)… The Lions improved to 77-38 all-time in season openers in 83-32 in home openers.
