NEW YORK — Penn shot 62.5 percent in the second half to pull away to a 76-67 triumph over the Columbia men's basketball team Saturday afternoon. Mike Smith led the Lions (6-15, 1-4) with 21 points to go with five rebounds and four assists in the defeat.
 
Jack Forrest netted nine of his 14 points in the first half and added six boards. Eddie Turner III posted a career-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting in 13 minutes off the bench.
 
The Quakers (11-7, 3-2) grabbed an early five-point lead, but Forrest canned an open triple from the right wing to tie things up at 11-11 with 13:11 to play in the first half. A pair of makes from Turner III highlighted a 9-2 spurt that put Columbia on top, 24-14, at the 7:12 mark before a quick response from Penn.
 
Ryan Betley knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to start the rally, and later, Eddie Scott broke loose for a pair of layups to put the Quakers back in front, 29-28. Tai Bibbs answered with a trey, followed by a Devon Goodman layup to bring the score to 31-31 at the break.
 
Penn started the second half exactly like it did in the first, registering the first five points of the stanza before Columbia settled in. Ike Nweke scored six-straight during a mini-surge that pulled the Lions within 50-47 with 12:35 to go. But then, the Lions committed back-to-back turnovers which led to dunks from Scott to put the momentum back on the Quakers side.
 
Trailing 63-53 with 8:05 on the clock, Columbia made one final push. Jake Killingsworth buried a key 3-pointer and knocked down a pair of free throws to make it two-point contest and Smith knocked down a pull-up jumper to bring the Lions within 65-64.
 
On Penn's trip down the floor, Jordan Dingle attacked the rim for a lay-in to give his team some extra breathing room. Columbia finished the game without a field goal over the final 4:39 and AJ Brodeur went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to cap off the Quaker win.
 
Brodeur registered a game-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the line. Penn shot 51.8 percent from the floor, compared to 40.3 percent by the Lions. Columbia did hold a 37-33 edge on the glass and held the Quakers to no second-chance points.
 
The Lions are back in action Sunday, February 9 to take on Princeton in Levien Gymnasium. Tickets are available by visiting gocolumbialions.com/tickets or calling 888-LIONS-11. The game can also be seen live on SNY or ESPN+.

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