NEW YORK -  Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa had 18 points, five rebounds and four assists and Avery Brown added 10 points and five assists as Columbia men's basketball fell to Brown 84-73 on Senior Day at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.

Despite the Lions jumping out to a 6-1 lead off of 3-pointers from Zavian McLean and Liam Murphy, the Bears ripped off a 12-0 run to take control early on. Brown eventually doubled up Columbia (7-21, 2-11), 22-11, midway through the half. Brown (14-12, 7-6) led by as many as 14 in the first half before the Lions cut the lead to 38-35 thanks to some hot 3-point shooting. 

Columbia was 7-of-14 beyond the arc, but the Bears were strong on the offensive glass with 11 second-chance points, and took a 40-35 lead into the break.

"I thought we played well at times," head coach Jim Engles said. "We competed for extended periods but we need to be more consistent on the glass. I think we turned the ball over a little too much. That's the stuff we need to work on."

The Lions tried to rally again in the second half and Rubio De La Rosa tied things up, 50-50, with 13:04 remaining. Rubio De La Rosa later went on a 5-0 run himself to give Columbia the lead at 55-54 and then 57-56 midway through the second half. 

Unfortunately, that lead would be the last of the Lions. Brown stormed right back on its next trip down the floor and led by as many as 11 in the second half.

Noah Robledo added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench for the Lions. Seniors Cameron Shockley-Okeke and Lukas Yurasits were recognized in a pregame ceremony.

"It's been tough from a record stand point but I'm proud of the way the guys have handled it," Engles said. "All the different things we've learned. We have one more game and four more practices we can focus on. There's still a lot more improvement we can get to."

Columbia was coming off a victory over Dartmouth, and looking for its first back-to-back wins since Dec. 3-4 when the Lions defeated New Hampshire followed by Sarah Lawrence at home.

The Lions will wrap up its season at Cornell. Tip-off in Ithaca, N.Y. is set for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.

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Matt Sugam '23 SPS  has been covering sports in the NY metropolitan area for over a decade. He has spent the last nine years covering college and professional sports as a stringer for the Associated Press and contributing to The New York Times, USA Today Network, NJ.com, and SNY.tv. He's covering Lions Athletics for gocolumbialions.com while pursuing an M.S. in Strategic Communication at Columbia SPS. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Visit his website at www.mattsugam.com