NEW YORK — Columbia guards Gabe Stefanini and Quinton Adlesh made all the key plays down the stretch, combining to score 45 points as the Lions posted a 73-70 victory over Cornell Saturday evening at Levien Gymnasium. Columbia has now won three of its last four games and improves to 1-1 in Ivy League play and 6-10 overall. Cornell drops to 1-1 in the Ivy League and 9-9 overall. The Lions and Big Red met for the second time in as many weeks to begin Ivy League competition.
Columbia hit 70.8 percent of their second half shots and held Cornell to 5-of-17 shooting from downtown for the game.
"We knew Cornell would make a run," said head coach Jim Engles. "We just needed to stay focused and consistent. We did a good job of guarding the 3-point line, competed well on the glass and showed some toughness."
"Gabe played really focused and is learning how to score and get everyone involved," Engles continued. "Q obviously needs to be guarded because he's such an elite shooter. Those two guys have started to generate some chemistry."
Despite converting 17-of-24 after halftime, Cornell would not go way. The Big Red trimmed what was previously an 11-point Columbia lead down to 69-68 on two Josh Warren free throws with 39 seconds to play following a Columbia foul and turnover. But Adlesh, with the shot clock winding down, answered with a pull up jumper in the lane at the 12.1 second mark to give the Lions a three-point lead. After Cornell's Matt Morgan scored on a layup with 7.6 seconds, Stefanini was fouled with 5.7 seconds to play. He calmly stepped to the free throw line and hit both shots, giving Columbia a 73-70 lead.
Cornell raced the ball up the court and Riley Voss heaved a shot from just over midcourt that bounced off the backboard and rolled off the rim, giving the Lions the win.
Stefanini scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half alone. He took over midway through the second half when he scored seven straight points to help the Lions maintain their lead. He hit a 3-pointer to give Columbia a 46-40 lead with 13:03 to play, then swished a jumper and converted a driving layup. A few minutes later and following an Ike Nweke bucket, he drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Columbia a 55-46 lead with 10:26 to go.
Adlesh, who finished with a season-high 21 points and hit 7-of-12 from the field, followed with a trey and two free throws to give Columbia its largest lead of the game, 60-49, with 8:52 to play.
Cornell put together an 8-0 run fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Morgan and Jimmy Boeheim. Two Jack Gordon free throws cut the lead down to 67-65 with 3:16 to play, but Adlesh banked in a driving jumper and a Stefanini steal drained time off the game clock.
A 9-0 run midway through the first half gave Columbia a 28-23 halftime lead. Following the run, Columbia never trailed again. Adlesh sparked the rally as he converted two layups and a 3-pointer to give the Lions a six-point lead with 5:53 to play before intermission.
Cornell was led by Boeheim's 22 points and Morgan's 21.
Stefanini converted on 10-of-17 of his attempts, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists. Junior Patrick Tapé recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Columbia is back in action Friday, February 1 against Princeton at 7 p.m. in Levien Gymnasium. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here or calling 888-LIONS-11. The contest will be shown live on ESPN+.
