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Zavian McLean
Columbia University Athletics / Matt Rostkowski
78
Columbia CU 8-4,0-0 Ivy League
87
Winner Fordham FU 6-7,0-0 Atlantic 10
Columbia CU
8-4,0-0 Ivy League
78
Final
87
Fordham FU
6-7,0-0 Atlantic 10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Columbia CU 38 40 78
Fordham FU 31 56 87

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men’s Basketball Suffers Road Loss at Fordham

Lions surrender first half lead; Rams shoot 60 percent in second half

BRONX, N.Y. — Columbia men's basketball led for the first 33 minutes of Saturday's game, but fell to a Fordham comeback, 87-78, at Rose Hill Gymnasium in the second annual Tom Konchalski Classic.

Zavian McLean poured in a game-best and season-high 19 points. Josh Odunowo contributed 12 points and eight boards, while Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa added nine points and seven assists. Jaden Cooper had a career-high six rebounds.

"It's an important time for our team and this happened with us at New Hampshire," head coach Jim Engles said postgame. "We were up at halftime and in the second half we kind of let it slide a little bit. We have to execute a lot better in the second half."

Fordham was 18-30 (60 percent) from the field in the final 20 minutes and outscored Columbia, 56-40, in the half. The Rams (6-7) also went 12-12 from the free throw line in the second half to help cap off their come-from-behind victory.

The Lions (8-4) fell behind for the first time of the game with 6:46 left on a layup by Abdou Tsimbila. Another layup by Romad Dean made it 65-62 Rams, forcing Columbia to call its first timeout of the afternoon.

Odunowo completed a three-point play with 1:21 to go to make it a 78-75 game in favor of Fordham. Columbia couldn't close the gap, as Japhet Medor hit a three to push Fordham's lead back to six. The Rams went up by nine with 23 seconds left to close it out. Five Rams netted double-figures scoring in the game.

"We just have to go through it a little bit," Engles said. "Learning how to play in the second half and reset yourself. Playing with a different drive is what we're focused on."

Columbia was 5-7 from the floor over the first 4:39 of the game to take a 12-6 lead into the opening media timeout. Blair Thompson got off to a hot start, burying his first three shots, which included a pair of three-pointers. 

Fordham used a 7-1 run over 3:25 midway through the opening half to bring Columbia's lead within two at 26-24. An Odunowo free throw and Cooper layup immediately after gave the Lions a five-point lead.

The Lions led the entire first half, taking a 38-31 advantage into the locker room. Columbia had the Rams locked down defensively, holding them to 3-19 from beyond the arc and just 27.8 percent from the field overall in the first 20 minutes. 

McLean got the Lions off on a 5-0 run out of the halftime break with a three-pointer, then snagged an offensive board and laid it in to give Columbia a 12-point lead. He hit another triple a few minutes later for his 15th point of the day. 

The Rams then crawled back by nailing three straight from deep to tie the game at 54-54 with 11:37 remaining. Jake Tavroff stepped up, making a key bucket and adding two free throws to bring Columbia back in front, 62-58, at the under-8 media timeout.

The Lions return home on Thursday against Mount Saint Vincent in its final non-conference matchup. Tip is set for 7 p.m. from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.

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