Lions look to end two-game losing streak with win over Lehigh

The Columbia men’s basketball team will be returning home Thursday night in hopes of ending its two-game losing skid. The Lions (2-3) have dropped their last two games, both on the road, to No. 8 Syracuse and No. 7 Sacred Heart, but will look to bring their record back to .500 when they face Lehigh in New York.

The Light Blue’s 60-55 loss to the Pioneers on Monday night was marked by a series of scoring runs. Columbia opened the game with a 14-3 run, only to find itself down by seven at halftime. But just three-and-a-half minutes into the second half, back-to-back jumpers by senior guard Patrick Foley sparked a 23-3 run, giving the Lions an eight-point lead. It was then Sacred Heart’s turn to go on a tear, outscoring Columbia 20-7 in the final eight-and-a-half minutes of the game.

“We played well in spurts,” head coach Joe Jones said. “We played really well to start the game, we played really well in the start of the second half, but we didn’t play consistently well enough to win.”

Even though the Lions held the Pioneers to 36.8 percent from the field—31.3 percent in the second half—Sacred Heart used its 3-point shooting to put the game away. The Pioneers made 41.7 percent of their shots from behind the arc and went 5-for-9 in their game-ending run.

“They made some tough threes,” Jones said.

Even though the Light Blue has been receiving good offensive production from Foley, sophomore guard Noruwa Agho, and junior forward Brian Grimes, Jones believes that senior guard Niko Scott needs to start consistently shooting well again, as he has in past years.

“For us to be really good, I think it would be good to have a guy like Niko, who’s very capable of scoring, get going a little bit,” Jones said.

Against Sacred Heart, Scott was 1-3 from the field and 0-2 from long range. For the season, he is shooting 29.6 percent from the field, much lower than last season’s 43.1 percent.

Lehigh (3-3) is also coming off a loss, as it fell to Stony Brook 71-52 on Monday night. The Mountain Hawks only made 30.1 percent of their shots, while allowing the Seawolves to sink 40 percent of theirs.

Sophomore guard John Adams came off the bench to lead Lehigh with 13 points, while junior guard Rob Keefer led the team with five boards.
Stony Brook did a good job of shutting down freshman guard C.J. McCollum, who went 1-8 from the field for four points. McCollum is currently leading the Mountain Hawks with 14.3 points per game on 41.8 percent shooting.

Another key freshman for Lehigh is forward Gabe Knutson, who has started all six games so far and is leading the squad with 6.2 rebounds per game.
In addition to talented newcomers, the Mountain Hawks have capable returners—senior point guard Marquis Hall, in particular. Hall is leading the squad with 40 assists this season and is second in scoring with 9.0 points per game.

“They execute very well and they’ve got a great point guard,” Jones said. “I think he’s a terrific player.”

Last season when Columbia and Lehigh squared off, Hall notched 12 points and six assists in a 73-59 victory for the Mountain Hawks. Despite losing by double digits last season, Jones expects a better game this year as his squad is a lot healthier.

“We match up very well,” Jones said. “You know, we weren’t healthy last year when we played them. Pat [Foley] didn’t play, Asenso [Ampim] didn’t play, obviously Brian [Grimes] was out as well. I think it’s a very competitive game, a lot like the Bucknell game.”

While a healthy Grimes and Foley will definitely help the Light Blue out on the offensive end of the court, junior forward Ampim could prove to be a force on defense, much like he was against the Bison.

“He’s one of the guys that I feel can really help us in a lot of ways,” Jones said. “He elevates this team to a whole other level when he’s in there and he’s playing well.”

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Levien.