NEW YORK – The Columbia men's basketball team opened the game on a 12-2 run and led wire-to-wire in a dominant 85-60 victory over Princeton Friday night. The Lions (7-15, 4-6) were led by a career-high 22 points off the bench by senior Kyle Castlin.
The win snapped Columbia's eight-game losing streak against the Tigers (11-14, 3-7) and the win was the first for the Lions at Levien Gym since a 58-44 triumph on March 6, 2009, when current head coach Jim Engles was on Joe Jones' staff as an assistant. Additionally, it was Columbia's most lopsided win in the series since the 1947-48 season (56-40).
Castlin knocked down 4-of-5 from 3-point range and added six rebounds. Lukas Meisner posted 15 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double in his last six games. Quinton Adlesh went 4-of-6 from downtown on his way to 18 points. Mike Smith added 14 points and five assists.
Adlesh and Meisner teamed up for 17 of the Lions' first 22 points to help Columbia build a 17-point advantage just over seven minutes in. Later, Meisner capped an 8-0 rally when he found an opening down the lane and slammed one home to make it 42-17 at the 4:35 mark.
After taking a 48-25 lead into the break, the Lions continued to cruise. Devin Cannady's 3-pointer brought Princeton within 18, but Castlin answered with back-to-back treys to make it 64-39 with 12:54 left and Columbia never looked back.
Amir Bell led Princeton with 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Columbia shot 50.8 percent and was 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from downtown. Princeton was held to 32.3 percent shooting and was 7-of-28 on its 3-point attempts. The Lions finished the game with a 45-31 advantage on the glass.
The Lions are back in action tomorrow, February 17, against Princeton. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11.
Fans can also watch the contest on SNY, NBC Sports Philadelphia + and the Ivy League Network, now available on Apple TV, Roku and the ILN app for Android and Apple devices.
POSTGAME TIP-INS
- Quinton Adlesh extended his double-figure scoring streak to 10 games.
- Mike Smith dished out five or more assists for the fourth consecutive game.
- Former Columbia standout Luke Petrasek '17CC was in attendance and was honored during a timeout for becoming the 28th player in program history to record 1,000 career points, a feat he accomplished in the Lions' final home game of the 2016-17 campaign.
- Columbia's 14 3-pointers bring its monthly total to 66 for the Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge. Fans can pledge a dollar amount for every triple Columbia makes in February until the end of the regular season or make a one-time donation. All funds will the American Cancer Society. To donate, click here.
