Feb. 10, 2006
NEW HAVEN, CONN. - Columbia rallied from an 18-point deficit, but fell to Yale, 74-67. Columbia dropped to 8-12, 1-6 Ivy, while Yale improved to 12-10, 4-3 Ivy.
Yale opened the game on a 14-0 run and led by as many 18 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half, but Justin Armstrong scored the first five points of a 20-4 Columbia run over a span of just over seven minutes to cut the lead to two.
After consecutive three-pointers by John Baumann and Dragutin Kravic, the Lions were still down two, 31-29, with just under four minutes remaining in the half. Yale closed the period with an 8-2 run, capped by a Dominic Martin jumper as time expired, and led 39-31 at the intermission.
The game remained close throughout the entire second half as Columbia pulled to within three, 44-41 five minutes into the second period, but Yale built the lead back to 10, 63-53, on an Eric Flato jumper with 5:54 left.
The Lions did not let up, closing to within four, 68-64, on two free throws from Ben Nwachukwu with 1:49 remaining. Yale made six free throws in the final 1:29 to ice the game for the Bulldogs.
Nwachukwu led all scorers with 18 points and Baumann got the Lions back in the game, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the first half. Justin Armstrong finished with 12 points, while Kravic totaled nine points and six rebounds in the loss.
Martin led the Bulldogs with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Eric Flato had 14, nine in the first half, for Yale.
The Lions return to action tomorrow, when they face Brown in Providence for a 7 p.m. game to be televised on the Yes Network.
