NEW YORK — Columbia men's basketball dominated Delaware State in an 83-62 victory in its home opener from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium on Saturday night.
Coming off a 90-80 upset win at Villanova on Wednesday, the Lions move to 3-0 to open the season for the first time since 2005.
Delaware State (0-2) kept testing the waters for a late-game comeback, but the Lions were ultimately able to hold on. Columbia made 12 threes and had five players scoring in double-figures.
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa, who led the team in scoring with 19 points, posted his seventh straight double-figure scoring game dating back to last season.
Blair Thompson posted the first double-double of his career with 12 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.
The Lions' first points on their home floor this season came on a
Zine Eddine Bedri post-up play after the Hornets cashed in two jumpers. The Lions took their first lead almost two-and-a-half minutes into the game on a
Kenny Noland layup. After
Jaden Cooper found first-year
Gianni Cobb for an open three, Cooper then stole the ball and threw it to Cobb who assisted Noland on another three.
Coming out of the media timeout, Eddine Bedri cut through the defense and converted an and-1 layup. On the next play, first-year
Josiah Cunningham pickpocketed a Hornets player and went coast-to-coast for a layup.
Avery Brown and Thompson fired off consecutive threes to give the Lions a 33-20 lead, their largest of the first half. At least, it
was their largest lead until Rubio De La Rosa picked up another steal and went coast-to-coast, with
Jake Tavroff in the right spot to score the putback layup and give the Lions a 42-28 lead to finish the first half.
Rubio De La Rosa opened the second half by swishing a contested three with the shot clock running out. Noland made his second three of the game off a Brown assist. Rubio De La Rosa converted a layup after catching a long inbound pass from Noland to expand the lead. After pulling up for three on the fast break, Rubio De La Rosa gave the Lions a 25-point lead with just over six minutes to go.
Mason Ritter put an exclamation point on the game with a massive slam with just over a minute left to play.
In only 16 minutes, Eddine Bedri posted an efficient 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Brown and Noland were the fourth and fifth Lions to score in double figures, with 11 and 10 points respectively. Rubio De La Rosa also pulled in six rebounds and made five threes while shooting .455 (5-11) from behind the arc.
The Lions will be back in action on Tuesday at home against Lehigh (0-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday's matchup against Lehigh can be followed via live stats or watched live on ESPN+.
Postgame Notes:
- Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa posted his seventh straight double-figure scoring game dating back to last season.
- Columbia is 3-0 for the first time since 2005.
- Ritter tallied his first career block, totalling three in the game.
- Cunningham netted his first career points, finishing with six.
- Blair Thompson posted his first career double-double, including a career-high 11 rebounds.
Follow The Lions
For the latest on Columbia men's basketball, follow @CULionsMBB on
X,
Instagram or on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
