In order to win, Lions must dominate paint

Things haven’t been going Columbia’s way this season. After opening its conference slate with two losses to league-leading Cornell and a 74-45 shellacking at the hands of Harvard, the Light Blue (9-13, 3-5 Ivy) lost its play-maker, senior point guard Patrick Foley, to a shoulder injury.

With Foley out, the Lions have had to redefine their offensive identity, and that means relying on their post players.

“We’ve just had to change our mindset with Pat being out … We’ve really had to change the focus of our offense,” head coach Joe Jones said. “We’ve kind of gone and done some different things, and our inside play has got to be something that we have to start to look to more often.”

In its three Ivy wins this season, Columbia has outscored its opponents in the paint 72-56. But in their losses, the Lions have been outscored by an average margin of 12 near the basket. As these numbers show, if the Light Blue wants to win, it must play well inside.

“But that’s something we’re really working on and I really feel like, if we’re going to keep getting better, that’s where we got to go,” Jones said. “We got to be able to throw it in there, and we’ve got to be able to finish. So we’ve been working really hard at getting better.”

The Light Blue definitely does not have a shortage of capable inside players, with five athletes who have been fighting for playing time all season. Centers Max Craig, Mark Cisco, and Zack Crimmins and forwards Asenso Ampim and John Daniels have all seen a few starts and significant playing time during conference play. Columbia also has forward Brian Grimes, who has started 17 of the 20 games he’s played in.

“Whoever is the guy that plays the majority of the minutes, they’ve got to be able to hold it down,” Jones said. “We have so many guys on the front line that can play, but if we’re going to give 20 minutes to a guy they have to get the job done.”

Though all six have shown that they can play, most are lacking collegiate experience and are not always consistent. It doesn’t help that Ampim, the most experienced of the bunch, has been benched for health reasons at various points throughout the season.

Ampim was definitely missed last Friday at Princeton, where Columbia was outscored 24-16 in the paint and out rebounded 31-25.

“I think he’s probably been our most consistent low post player,” Jones said. “He’s been the guy that’s probably scored the most inside. With his absence, I thought that was a factor in that game.”

Against the Tigers, the Light Blue missed 12 layups, a stat that highlights its struggles with finishing inside.

“We’ve just got to finish,” Jones said. “We’ve got to be able to finish better and that’s a big thing, you know. If we can score the ball in the paint, we’re going to be in good shape.”

Besides finishing inside, another aspect of solid post play is rebounding. In their three conference victories, the Lions have held a 98-76 advantage on the boards, but have been out-rebounded in all five of their losses.

Jones acknowledged the importance of rebounding and the affect it would have on the Light Blue’s offense in the paint.

“We’ve got to get on the glass,” Jones said. “I think if we can score the ball better … and then we can get some second-chance points in the paint, those numbers should really improve.”

When Columbia defeated Brown on Feb. 5, it was due in large part to its 16 second-chance points and its dominance on the boards.

“I mean that’s great, rebounding is very important,” Ampim said after the game. “That’s one of our game goals, usually to get six more rebounds than the other team, so getting second-chance points is one of our key points for our game plan.”

The night after its triumph over the Bears, the Light Blue was trounced by Yale, 79-64. In that game, Columbia was out-rebounded 46-27 and had only 12 second-chance points to the Bulldogs’ 20.

“We just didn’t play hard, we weren’t focused, and they just played tougher, flat-out,” said sophomore guard Noruwa Agho about being out-rebounded by 19. “It’s really that simple. When the ball goes up, there’s no Xs and Os. Somebody’s got to get the ball, and they got the ball.”

Since that loss, Jones and his team have been focusing on playing harder and grabbing more boards.

“Overall, we all have to take a step in that direction, get better at rebounding the ball,” Jones said.

If Columbia can control the glass this weekend, it may find itself with a .500 Ivy record on Sunday.