NEW YORK—Columbia took advantage of a sharp-shooting second half and received key individual performances from Randy Brumant as well as reserves Luke Bolster and Joseph Smoyer to notch a 69-54 non-conference men's basketball victory over Marist Saturday at Levien Gymnasium.
 
Columbia (4-9) outscored Marist, 25-9, over a 10-minute decisive second half span and bested the Red Foxes (1-9), 44-28, in the second half. After the break, Columbia shot 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the floor and converted on 4-of-6 of its attempts from beyond the arc. This was all accomplished with leading scorer Mike Smith going 12 minutes without a point. Smith still led the Lions with a game-high 16 points.
 
But on Saturday it was Brumant, Smoyer and Bolster who sparked the Lions. Early in the second half, Columbia scored six-straight to take the lead for good and outscored Marist 10-2 over three minutes. Jake Killingsworth drove the lane and dished to Smoyer for a layup to give Columbia the lead for good. Then, Smoyer converted two free throws after drawing a foul off Bolster's dish. A tip-in by Brumant gave the Lions a 38-35 lead with 14:08 to play.
 
Brumant followed with a jumper from the short corner followed by a Bolster steal and outlet pass to a streaking Brumant, who threw down a vicious fast-break dunk for a comfortable seven-point Columbia lead with 12:25 to go. Bolster followed with back-to-back triples and Smoyer scored on a layup to give Columbia a 50-40 cushion with 9:19 remaining.
 
The Lions pushed the lead to 15 after a 7-0 run capped by a Killingsworth trifecta with 5:37 left.
 
Smith's eight-game streak of scoring 20 or more points, which led the nation, came to an end. He still reached double figures and led the Lions in scoring for the 13^th consecutive contest. He also converted 8-of-9 free throws, including five in the closing minutes.
 
Marist took a 26-25 lead into halftime on a Matt Herasme 3-pointer. The Red Foxes erased an eight-point Columbia lead as they scored 11 of the half's final 13 points. Columbia led by as many as eight points (23-15) on a Jake Killingsworth 3-pointer at the 7:04 mark.
 
Brumant finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, Killingsworth finished with 11 points, a trio of 3-pointers and a game-high eight rebounds, while Bolster and Smoyer each added eight points off the bench for the Lions.
 
Four Marist players—Tyler Sagl (13 points), Michael Cubbage (12 points), Jack Cavanaugh (11) and Herasme (11)—reached double figures. The Red Foxes were held to 36.4 percent (20-55) in the game and committed 15 turnovers which led to eight Lions steals.
 
Columbia's victory snapped a four-game losing streak and brought the Lions to 3-0 at home.
 
Next up for Columbia, the Lions host UAlbany on Monday, Dec. 30. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at Levien Gymnasium. Tickets are available by visiting gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11. Fans who cannot make the contest, can watch the action live on ESPN+.

For the latest on the Columbia men's basketball, follow @CULionsMBB on Twitter and Instagram, and the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.