PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers overcame a 15-point first half deficit to force overtime and came away with a 68-65 victory over the Columbia men's basketball team Saturday afternoon. Quinton Adlesh led the Lions (3-8) with 16 points and Patrick Tapé added 15 on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.
 
"I thought we defended against well and did a really good job of taking them out of some of their stuff," Jim Engles said after the game. "I was really happy with the effort we put in. They're so big and you have to rebound against them. They finished some plays, rebounded, started to isolate some guys and getting to the free throw line helped them. I think that was a big difference in the game. We have to figure out some things offensively to help us get to the free throw line."
 
Jake Killingsworth and Tai Bibbs teamed up to score the first 10 Columbia points to give the Lions a nine-point advantage with 15:31 to play. An 11-2 Columbia run, aided by seven points from Adlesh made it 21-7 at the 9:35 mark and Killingsworth connected from the corner to give the Lions their largest lead of the game, 26-11, just over three minutes later.
 
However, the Scarlet Knights (6-5) methodically chipped away using second-chance buckets on its remaining points in the half and pulled within seven with 2:20 before halftime. With time winding down, Peter Barba found Killingsworth to his left and the junior buried his fourth trey of the period to make it 31-21 at the break.
 
Bibbs broke free in transition to push the margin to 37-23 with 17:07 remaining before Rutgers made its move. The Scarlet Knights rattled off 10 unanswered points to pull within four and Eugene Omoruyi knocked down a jumper, bringing his club within 43-42 with 8:25 on the clock.
 
After the teams traded baskets, Shaq Carter was open on the baseline for a dunk to give Rutgers its first lead of the day, 46-45. Adlesh hit nothing but net on his next two tries, putting Columbia back on top, 50-46, with 6:06 to go, but the Lions were held without a field goal the rest of regulation and trailed by two with under a minute left. Randy Brumant's two free throws with 33 seconds left knotted things up at 54-54 and a Geo Baker jumper hit the back of the rim to force overtime.
 
Baker knocked down just Rutgers' second 3-pointer of the contest to put the Scarlet Knights in front by four and followed with a pair from the charity stripe, giving Rutgers a 64-58 lead with 1:17 to go. Tapé, who dropped in nine of the team's 11 points in the extra session, converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play to keep the Lions in it on the next possession and two more free throws from the junior cut the deficit to 66-65 at the 42 second juncture.
 
The Scarlet Knights worked the shot clock down and drew a foul with 15 seconds left and Caleb McConnell hit both foul shots to set up one last chance for Columbia. Jake Killingsworth was pressured with time winding down and double-clutched a trey that bounced out to give Rutgers the come-from-behind win.
 
Omoruyi led Rutgers with 18 points and added six boards. The Scarlet Knights went 18-of-26 from the line, while the Lions went to the charity stripe just eight times (5-of-8).
 
The Lions are back in action Sunday, December 30 at Northwestern. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. eastern time on BTN Plus.
 
Tickets for upcoming home games at Levien Gymnasium can be purchased by clicking here or calling 888-LIONS-11.