Columbia

83

88

Princeton

 Lo Attacks the Rim  Hickman Layup in Transition  Kyle Smith Post Game Reaction

 Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Columbia men's basketball team cut a 17-point second half deficit to four with 2:40 to play, but came up short at Jadwin Gymnasium, 88-83, on Friday night. The Tigers (19-9, 9-1) shot 63.3 percent from the floor and 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) from beyond the arc.

Isaac Cohen posted a career-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go with five rebounds. Maodo Lo led the Lions (19-9, 8-3) with 20 points and added five rebounds and three steals.

The first half featured both teams trading blows, but the Tigers shot 66.7 percent, including 6-of-10 from downtown to take a 42-33 lead into the half. Princeton started the game 4-of-5 and raced out to an 11-4 lead less than five minutes in. Nate Hickman gave the Lions their first lead of the night, 17-16, after a baseline drive with 10:27 remaining in the half before the teams traded runs the rest of the way.

A 10-2 spurt restored a six-point cushion for the Tigers with 8:29 before the break. However, Rosenberg's strong finish evened things at 32-32 with 3:47 to go in the frame. Princeton scored the final seven points of the half, capped by a long trey from Spencer Weisz with three seconds before intermission.

Cohen netted the first two buckets of the second half to bring the deficit down to 42-37 with 19:12 to play, but the Tigers buried three consecutive shots from long-range to extend the margin to 55-41.

Down by 16 at the 8:20 mark, Columbia attacked the rim and slowed down Princeton's offense with a mixture of pressure and zone defense. Grant Mullins went hard to the rack and made it 75-71 with 2:40 on the clock. The Lions played great defense on the next possession, but Steven Cook buried a corner trey as the shot clock expired to halt the momentum and help the Tigers come away with the victory.

Cook finished with a game-high 23 points, going 5-of-6 from 3-point land and added six boards.

Columbia finished with a 34-25 advantage on the glass and outscored Princeton 54-32 in the paint.

The Lions are back in action tomorrow night against Penn at the Palestra. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Fans can catch all the action on the Ivy League Digital Network.

Notes: With 1,623 career points, Lo passes Chet Forte to move into third place on the Columbia all-time scoring list. Forte scored 1,611 points in three seasons for the Lions (1954-57)... Lo's three steals gives him 64 on the season. The team single-season record is 68, set by Sean Couch in 1986-87... Cohen's previous career scoring high was 14, against Maryland-Eastern Shore in 2013.