Columbia Holds Off Iona, 74-71, at Madison Square Garden

Sunday, December 9

New York, N.Y. / Madison Square Garden

11:00 A.M.

Columbia University

Iona

Columbia

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

Columbia Holds Off Iona, 74-71, at Madison Square Garden

12/9/2018 2:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Lions hit 10 threes to earn first win at MSG since 2008

NEW YORK – Columbia men's basketball topped Iona, 74-71, at the Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival Sunday afternoon. The Lions (3-6), who played without starting point guard Mike Smith (injury), had five players in double figures, led by Jake Killingsworth's 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from downtown.

Killingsworth's four 3-pointers are the most for a Columbia player at Madison Square Garden. He added a career-high seven rebounds in 32 minutes of action. Patrick Tapé registered 13 points and eight boards. Maka Ellis netted 13 points off the bench.

"We're extremely excited to have the opportunity to come into Madison Square Garden and walk out with a victory," said head coach Jim Engles. "It's a great moment for our program. We have a bunch of tough, resilient guys. We've played a lot of close games this year and, unfortunately, came out on the wrong end at times, but today was a good one for us. We had a lot of guys that stepped up with Mike Smith going down. I think we're starting to build some momentum and doing the right things."

Gabe Stefanini knocked down a trey from the top of the key to cap a 9-0 run in the opening 2:50 of the contest. Columbia took advantage of open looks in the high post against the Gaels' (2-6) zone defense and led by as many as 13 in the first half. Peter Barba found Maka Ellis on right baseline at the 7:59 mark to extend the lead to 27-14.

Iona settled in after a slow shooting start. The Gaels ripped off a 12-0 run to tie the game on a Rickey McGill layup with 45 seconds left. Tapé closed the first-half scoring with a nice finish from the low post to put Columbia in front, 32-30, at the break.

The second half was a nip-and-tuck affair that featured four ties scores and three lead changes. Iona took its first lead of the ballgame, 57-55, on a pair of Tajuan Agee free throws with 8:01 to play before the Lions answered with the next six points to go back on top at the 5:12 mark. E.J. Crawford knocked down a triple and two free throws to put the Gaels in front, 62-61, with 3:43 left regulation.

The Lions regained the lead for good when Quinton Adlesh hit a pull-up jumper in the lane and Stefanini converted on a reverse layup with 1:34 left, giving Columbia a three-point advantage. After a defensive stop, Stefanini hit a pair from the charity stripe to make it a 69-64 game with 1:00 to go and the Lions hit 5-of-6 from the line down the stretch to hang on for the win.

Crawford led Iona with 17 points and added seven rebounds. Agee had 16 points and 11 boards.

The Lions hit the road to take on Boston College Wednesday, December 12, at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.

Tickets for upcoming home games at Levien Gymnasium can be purchased by clicking here or calling 888-LIONS-11.

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