PRINCETON, N.J. – Columbia men's basketball first-year Gabe Stefanini was selected Ivy League Rookie of the Week after a career-high 19 points at Cornell Saturday.
Stefanini shot 7-of-12 from the floor, including a 3-of-4 mark from downtown, to go with four rebounds. The Bologna, Italy, native scored 13 points in the final 5:05 to keep the Lions within striking distance. With Columbia down by five, he started his clutch play with an old-fashioned 3-point play off an offensive rebound. Later, Stefanini forced a key steal to give the Lions a chance to tie the game with under four minutes to go and brought Columbia within one possession with his final three buckets down the stretch.
In his last two games, Stefanini is averaging 15.0 points on 57.8 percent shooting from the floor, a 5-of-6 clip from beyond the arc and 3.5 rebounds.
The 6-3 guard is the first Lion to earn the honor since Mike Smith did so on January 16, 2017.
Columbia is back in action this weekend against Harvard Friday, February 2, and Dartmouth, Friday, February 3. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for both contests. To purchase, visit gocolumbialions.com/tickets or call 888-LIONS-11.
Fans can also catch the action on SNY and the Ivy League Network, now available on Apple TV, Roku and the ILN app for Android and Apple devices.
