PRINCETON, N.J. — Columbia men's basketball had an 18-point lead at halftime but dropped Monday's contest to Princeton, 71-67, at Jadwin Gymnasium.

The Lions (11-5, 0-3) were outscored in the second half, 56-34. Princeton (14-4, 3-0) drilled 12 three-pointers in the final 20 minutes to chip into Columbia's big lead and narrowed it to a four-point game with 3:07 left after a Jack Stanton three-pointer.

After falling down 66-65 with under a minute to play, Mason Ritter put Columbia back in front with a tip-in and-one finish. He was unable to convert the free throw.  

Xaivian Lee then buried the game-winning shot from beyond the arc with 10 seconds left to put Princeton back in front for the fourth lead change of the final two minutes. Blake Peters hit two free throws to seal the victory.

Columbia exploded on a 14-2 run through the game's first four minutes. The Lions were 5-6 from the field over that span. Columbia maintained a 25-13 advantage after a Josiah Cunningham reverse lay-in with 7:37 left in the first half. 

Columbia held its largest lead at 33-13 with 1:59 until the break after a 10-0 run. Princeton was 6-32 from the field and just 2-19 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes.

Princeton broke off a 12-4 run to start the half but Columbia managed to sustain a double-digit lead at the first media timeout of the second half. The Lions led 42-29 with 12:53 to play.

Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa led the Lions with 15 points. Blair Thompson added 13 points and six rebounds. Avery Brown had 10 points and four assists. 

Columbia travels to Penn next Saturday. Tip-off from The Palestra is set for 2 p.m.

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