NEW YORK — Yale's Azar Swain scored 29 points and Paul Atkinson added 20 as the Bulldogs built an early first half lead and cruised to an 83-65 win over the Columbia men's basketball team Saturday evening at Levien Gymnasium.
 
At halftime, Columbia officially dedicated its basketball court in honor of Jonathan Schiller '69CC '73LAW. In addition, the University held a pre-game reception in Schiller's honor and hosted its annual Alumni Weekend, which included an alumni game on Saturday afternoon at Levien Gymnasium.
 
Once again, Columbia was led by senior point guard Mike Smith, who scored 37 points and led the Lions in scoring for the 24^th time out of 26 games. The nation's No. 13 ranked scorer, Smith topped the 30-point mark for the fourth time this year and 20-point mark for the 18^th time this season. Smith hit 14 of his 24 field goals, converted 4-8 3-point field goals and all four of his free throws. Randy Brumant also contributed nine points.
 
Yale took control in the first half as it built a 16-point halftime lead (44-28). In the first half alone, Yale grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, outrebounded Columbia 25-12 and limited the Lions to 33 percent shooting (9-27). The Bulldogs ended up holding a 44-25 edge on the glass, grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and scored 34 of their 83 points in the paint.
 
Yale used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to take a 26-17 lead at the 9:24 mark. Matthue Cotton started the run with a jumper, Swain gave the Bulldogs the lead with a layup and August Mahoney hit two free throws. After an Eric Monroe jumper, Atkinson followed with two free throws. The Lions were held five minutes without a point until Brumant hit a jumper to end the run.
 
Several minutes later, Cotton hit a jumper and then followed with a 3-pointer from the corner to give Yale a 35-21 lead with four minutes to play in the half. Then Yale went on a 9-0 run to go up 20 points (44-24). The Bulldogs led 44-28 at halftime.
 
Yale maintained its lead throughout the second half. Columbia cut the margin down to as few as 15 points on a Smith jumper, but that was as close as the Lions came.
 
Yale's Swain hit 10 of his 18 field goals and 5-9 3-pointers for his 29 points. Atkinson did his damage on the inside as he finished 20 points on 9-14 shooting.
 
Yale improved to 20-6 overall and 8-2 in Ivy League play, while Columbia dropped to 6-20 overall and 1-9 in Ivy League play.
 
The Lions remain at home to take on Harvard on Friday, February 28, at 7 p.m. on ESPNews. Tickets are available by visiting gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11.

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