Ball State
67
69
Columbia
| Stat Comparison |
|---|
| Category |
Ball State |
Columbia |
| Points |
67 |
69 |
| FGM-A |
27-52 |
20-49 |
| FG% |
52% |
41% |
| 3 FGM-A |
6-16 |
9-23 |
| 3 FG% |
38% |
39% |
| FTM-A |
7-14 |
20-27 |
| FT% |
50% |
74% |
| Rebounds |
28 |
35 |
| Assists |
9 |
12 |
| Turnovers |
6 |
7 |
| Blocks |
1 |
3 |
| Steals |
4 |
4 |
| Individual Leaders |
|---|
| Category |
Ball State |
Columbia |
| Points |
Moses - 15 |
Rosenberg - 18 |
| Rebounds |
House - 6 |
Rosenberg/Mullins - 7 |
| Assists |
Smith - 4 |
Lo - 3 |
| Steals |
4 players - 1 |
Lo - 2 |
| Blocks |
Weber - 1 |
3 Tied - 1 |
NEW YORK - A second half comeback and grit in the final minute helped the Columbia men's basketball team pull out a 69-67 victory over Ball State in the quarterfinal round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament at Levien Gymnasium Wednesday.
The Lions (23-10) held the lead for most of the first half, before an 8-0 run gave Ball State (22-14) a 23-21 edge with 4:48 remaining in the period. Maodo Lo hit his first triple on Columbia's last possession of the half, but a three-point answer at the buzzer by Bo Calhoun sent the teams into the locker room tied, 32-32.
The Cardinals started the second half on a 6-0 run, which Columbia would answer in the back-and-forth affair.
After Ball State pushed their lead to seven, a Jeff Coby dunk followed by a Lo three forced a timeout for the Cardinals with 5:09 on the clock. The guests would hit a bucket, but another deep ball from Lo made it 62-62 with just over four minutes to play.
The tie would not last long, as Sean Sellers would answer with a three-pointer of his own, giving the Cardinals a 65-62 lead during the final media timeout.
Lo would again come through in the clutch with a three pointer to tie the game with 2:11 on the clock. On Ball State's next possession, a jumper from Trey Moses pushed their lead back to two.
Alex Rosenberg hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 67 with 1:26 to play, before Luke Petrasek came up with the biggest sequence of the game for the Lions.
The junior gave Columbia its first lead of the second half with two free throws, then blocked a layup attempt from Ryan Weber on a Ball State run out with 42 seconds to play, which gave possession back to the Lions.
The Cardinals would get one more chance, taking over with 12 seconds on the clock down by two. On a baseline drive, Sellers drew a foul on Isaac Cohen, giving him two shots at the free throw line with 1.9 seconds to play. The Ball State sophomore missed the first free throw, then after a Cardinals timeout, he missed the second shot. Petrasek grabbed the rebound, securing the 69-67 win for Columbia.
Rosenberg led the scoring column with 18 points, including 11-of-13 shooting from the free throw line, and seven rebounds. Lo and Grant Mullins were also in double-figures with 16 and 14, respectively
The victory gave the Lions their 23rd win of the season, which tied a program record from the 1950-51 campaign. The home win was also the 16th of the season, which broke the all-time mark for victories in Levien Gymnasium, and the 13th non-conference triumph tied the 2013-14 team for the most in school history.
Columbia will play in the semifinals of the CIT on Sunday, March 27 at 6 p.m. in Levien Gymnasium. Opponent will be announced after the quarterfinal round is complete tomorrow. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here or by calling 888-LIONS-11. The game will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network.
