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Men’s Basketball Dominates New Haven in Season Opener With 71-53 Win
11/7/2025 4:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Lions earn a wire-to-wire victory in Kevin Hovde’s head coaching debut
WEST HAVEN, Conn. — Columbia men's basketball opened the 2025-26 season with an impressive 71-53 win over New Haven at The Hazell Center on Friday afternoon. Head coach Kevin Hovde secured his first career victory.
The guys came in here and competed the right way, Hovde said in his postgame interview on NEC Front Row. That was the biggest thing for us. Focusing on defending, rebounding, and taking care of the ball. I thought our guys tried to do that.
A well-balanced offensive attack led the Lions (1-0), as Kenny Noland, Miles Franklin, and Avery Brown poured in double-figures. Noland had a team-high 14 points, while Franklin dropped 13, and Brown had 10. Zine Eddine Bedri and Blair Thompson led the team with six rebounds each. Columbia shot 55.1 percent from the floor (27-49) and 50 percent (8-16) from three-point range.
New Haven (0-1) was held to just a 21.9 percent mark beyond the arc. The Lions led by as many as 28 points in the second half and won the rebounding battle, 41-27.
Thompson and Noland each knocked down their first three-pointers of the season to give Columbia a 6-3 lead at the first media timeout of the afternoon. Columbia's first three baskets came from behind the arc.
Over a 4:30 stretch midway through the opening half, the Lions broke off a 14-3 run and expanded the lead to 21-10 with 7:46 until the break.
Nine different players scored in the first half for Columbia, led by seven each from Brown, Noland, and Bedri. The Lions closed out the half with a 21-8 run to take a 42-18 advantage into the locker room. Columbia shot 65.2 percent from the floor compared to New Haven's 25.9 percent clip.
New Haven came out of the gates with a 12-4 run in the second half, forcing Columbia to call a timeout with 17:03 to go.
After holding a 16-point lead, Columbia exploded with an 11-0 spurt to break the game open and go ahead 59-34 with 10:23 remaining.
We have a lot of guys that can help us, Hovde said. You never know whose night it is going to be. Our depth is definitely a strength of this team.
The Lions take on No. 4 UConn on Monday at 6:30 p.m. inside Gampel Pavilion. It will be Columbia's first matchup against a ranked team since 2019 (at No. 9 Virginia) and 10th contest in program history against a top-five team.
Postgame Notes:
-Columbia improves to 80-44 all-time in season openers
-The Lions have won their second straight season opener
-Miles Franklin and Connor Igoe each made their collegiate debut
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