PHILADELPHIA — The Columbia men's basketball team rallied from down five with 1:23 left in overtime to secure a 79-77 victory over Penn at the Palestra Friday night. Maka Ellis' layup with 0.4 seconds left proved to be the difference and ended the Lions' (7-16, 2-7) six-game slide.

Gabe Stefanini was the catalyst for Columbia, posting 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in 43 minutes of action. Ellis was 6-of-7 from the field on his way to 14 points in 28 minutes off the bench. Patrick Tapé added 14 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals.

Columbia led by seven and five in the final five minutes, but AJ Brodeur came up big for the Quakers (15-10, 3-6) and scored five consecutive points to put Penn back in front, 72-70, with 49 seconds left in regulation. Stefanini answered with a runner in the lane to even things up and the Lions forced a shot clock violation to force the extra five minutes.

Devon Goodman hit a step-back 3-pointer gave the Quakers a 77-72 cushion before Columbia made its move. Ellis converted from the left wing to bring the Lions within two and Peter Barba came up with a huge steal and layup with 23 seconds remaining.

Columbia came up with the stop it needed and tried to race down the floor looking for a transition basket, however, Penn deflected a pass out of bounds with 1.3 seconds left. Out of timeout, Stefanini inbounded to a cutting Ellis, who banked home the game-winner with just 0.4 seconds showing.

Penn tried to throw into the front court, but its last second attempt was well short to give the Lions just their second win at the Palestra since 2010.

Columbia came out strong, jumping out to a 10-4 lead after Tapé post finish with 14:27 remaining in the first. Ray Jerome hit back-to-back treys to ignite the Quakers' offense and Michael Wang finished a layup on a fast break to put Penn on top, 18-14, at the 9:16 mark.

Ellis capped a stretch of 10 unanswered with a triple from the right wing to put the Lions back in front, 26-20, but the Quakers closed the half on a 12-2 run and took a 35-30 advantage into the break.

A layup from Quinton Adlesh drew the Lions even at 42-42 with a layup with 15:02 left in the second. Later, the senior gave Columbia its largest lead of the night, 59-41 with a pull-up triple from the top of the key with 8:05 on the clock, leading up to the Penn surge down the stretch.

The game featured 10 lead changes and seven tie scores. The Lions shot 52.3 percent from the field on the night, compared to 45.8 percent for the Quakers. Antonio Woods led four Penn players in double-figures with 16 points.

Columbia rounds out the weekend Saturday, February 23 at Princeton for an 8 p.m. tip-off. Catch all the action live on ESPN+.
 
Tickets for upcoming home games can be purchased by clicking here or calling 888-LIONS-11.
 
POST GAME TIP-INS

• The Lions snapped a 17-game road losing streak in Ivy League play, dating back to a 79-75 win at Cornell on Jan. 14, 2017.
• Columbia won its first game in overtime during the Jim Engles era (1-7) and are 1-3 in overtime contests in 2018-19.
• The Lions are now 4-10 in games decided by two possessions or fewer.
• Quinton Adlesh's streak of scoring in double-figures ended at 17 games (seven points).