Health issues continue as men’s basketball falls to Harvard

The Columbia men’s basketball team (6-11, 0-3 Ivy) was unable to snap its four-game losing streak tonight, as it fell to Harvard at home, 74-45. As the Lions’ losing skid continued, so did their health problems. Senior point guard Pat Foley went down with a shoulder injury at the end of the first half, while junior forward Asenso Ampim didn’t even dress for the game due to an undisclosed health issue.

The Crimson’s (14-3, 3-0 Ivy) leading scorer, senior guard Jeremy Lin, opened the game with a layup, giving his team a 2-0 lead—the smallest lead Harvard had all game. Two more Crimson layups gave Harvard a 6-0 advantage before Columbia sophomore guard Noruwa Agho hit a two-point jumper with just over 18 minutes left to play in the first half.

Throughout the half, Harvard slowly built its lead by hitting five of 10 3-pointers and shooting 56.5 percent from the field. Heading into the locker room, the Crimson led 41-26, due in large part to Lin’s 13 first-half points on 5-for-6 shooting.

Things only got worse for the Lions in the second half. After shooting 42.1 percent from the field before intermission, Columbia made only five of its 20 field goals after the half.

Though the Light Blue was able to cut the Crimson’s lead down to 13 with 15:16 left to play, it was never able to make a full comeback. Harvard’s strong offensive play continued in the second half, as it finished the game with 55.6 percent shooting.

Lin, who played only 10 minutes in the second half, finished with a game-high 14 points, while Agho led the Lions with 12.

Harvard will head to Ithaca to take on Cornell Saturday, while Columbia will host Dartmouth tomorrow at 7 p.m.