Columbia
Penn
Penn Stymies Men's Basketball, 54-46
3/6/2015 9:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOX SCORE (.html) | BOX SCORE (.pdf)
PHILADELPHIA – The Columbia men's basketball team could not overcome a slow start and fell at Penn, 54-46, Friday night. Junior Maodo Lo paced the Lions' (13-14, 5-8) offense with 21 points.
Columbia shot just 27.5 percent from the floor and 7-of-32 from downtown in the defeat.
The Lions struggled to knock down shots in the first half, converting on just 3-of-20 attempts and went without a field goal for a span of 13:25. The Quakers' (8-18, 3-9) Sam Jones provided a pair of triples to help Penn take a 23-9 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Quakers led by as many as 17 points before Lo heated up. The Berlin native scored nine-straight and Jeff Coby hit a pair of free throws with 4:48 on the clock to cap a 10-0 run, pulling Columbia within 39-33.
However, Jones provided the dagger moments later, knocking down an off-balance 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down with 3:16 to play.
The Lions still refused down to go down quietly and Lo made it 46-40 on his third trifecta of the game with 1:15 remaining, but Penn hit clutch free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
Tony Hicks posted 19 points and eight rebounds for the Quakers. Jones finished with 14 on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Columbia wraps up the regular season on Saturday, March 7 when they visit Princeton at 6 p.m. Live video and audio will be available on the Ivy League Digital Network.
