NEW YORK – Four players scored in double-figures as Columbia improved its win-streak to five games after a 72-59 victory over Howard Monday night. Luke Petrasek led the way for the Lions (9-5) with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Howard's (7-7) James Daniel, who came into the night as the nation's leading scorer at 28.4 points per game, finished with 36 points on the strength of 16-of-17 shooting from the foul line.
Petrasek scored the first six points of the contest before Howard rattled off a 10-1 run to take a three-point lead with 14:33 remaining in the first half. CJ Davis scored six of his eight points during a five-minute stretch to help Columbia take a 15-14 lead at the 8:20 mark when Maodo Lo and Daniel stole the show.
Two of the most dynamic scorers in the country traded baskets, but Lo's trio of 3-pointers versus Daniel's layups pushed the Lions' lead to 24-18 with 6:55 before the break. Two more treys from Grant Mullins spurred a 9-2 run to help Columbia take a 38-25 advantage into the locker room.
Eight of the Lions 11 first half field goals came from beyond the arc.
Columbia led by double-digits the entire second half with Howard only able to close within 54-43 at the midway point of the period. Kyle Castlin was the catalyst on the offensive end, scoring all 11 of his points in the final 20 minutes.
Lo finished with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from downtown.
The Bison shot just 25.8 percent from the floor. Columbia turned the ball over a season-high 17 times, but Howard only scored 11 points off of those miscues.
The Lions will play its final non-conference road game at Stony Brook this Saturday, January 2. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. The contest will have a free audio stream live on the Ivy League Digital Network. Tickets for upcoming home games can be purchased by clicking here.
NOTES: Monday's game was the 2,500th in program history... Lo moved ahead of Penn's Zack Rosen for 14th on the Ivy League career list for 3-pointers made (226).
