Starting off Ivy League play with two games against Cornell each season has always been a struggle for the Lions. In fact, they haven’t beaten the Big Red since 2006, opening up the past four seasons in an 0-2 hole.
Saturday at Levien Gymnasium, those “Beat Cornell” shirts all around campus finally came through with their prediction. The Light Blue defeated the defending Ancient Eight champions 79-75 in front of a packed house of 2,104 fans.
After jumping out to a 37-23 halftime lead, the Lions struggled in the second half, allowing Cornell to sneak back into the game, cutting it to 76-75 with only one minute left. The Light Blue held on for the win thanks to some clutch 3-pointers and free-throw shooting late in the game.
The Lions shouldn’t have been surprised that the game ended up being so close. Each of Columbia’s last 10 games has been decided by six points or fewer.
“We’ve had leads of 14 points or more and let them slip, so I think everyone’s a little more comfortable,” point guard Brian Barbour, who matched his career high with 21 points, said. “Everyone’s a little less nervous. We’re like ‘we’ve been here before, and we can pull this one off.’”
Barbour, who was playing with a swollen ankle for most of the game, didn’t seem to be affected by the injury, relentlessly driving to the paint from the top of the key for most of his buckets.
The Lions jumped out to the 14-point lead thanks to 11 points from junior shooting guard Noruwa Agho, who eventually finished with a team-high 25 points in his third straight game with 20 or more points. The second team all-Ivy Leaguer was awarded Ivy League Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week for his efforts.
His most critical contribution to the game was his 3-pointer with just over a minute to play that put the Lions up by four points and guaranteed that the Big Red would need to start fouling.
The Lions also held the Big Red to 29.4 percent shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes, a feat highlighted by Cornell junior guard Chris Wroblewski’s 0-for-11 performance to start the game. This was a stunning shutdown for the Ivy League’s third leading scorer, especially following his last game against Stony Brook, where he shot 8-13 from the field for a 29-point eruption.
“We tried to focus on his tendencies. We had a great scout, we kinda knew what he liked, and guys played good solid defense. We didn’t try to do too much, just keep the ball in front and get a hand on the shot,” Agho said. “You know he’s a great player, and I’m sure he won’t start 0-11 the rest of the season.”
The comeback was largely fueled by Cornell guard Drew Ferry, whose hot hand led the Big Red with 23 points—21 of which came off his 7-11 three-point shooting.
“The only thing you can really do is switch [the run around the pick],” Agho said. “Sometimes there’s only so much you can do.”
Head coach Kyle Smith agreed.
“That was one of the best performances I’ve seen in this gym,” he said.
Of course, Smith hasn’t seen too many games at Levien in his first season sitting on the bench, so he wasn’t around last year to watch Cornell’s dominating center Jeff Foote in action.
“Last year they gave it to Jeff Foote, and he takes the ball and makes a move,” Columbia sophomore center Mark Cisco said. “This year they have a lot more ball screens so you’re focusing on the plays instead of just him.”
Perhaps the biggest key for the Lions was their shooting, though. The Ivy League’s No. 1 scoring offense put up 70 points for the 10th time this season—already doubling its total from last year. The Light Blue also shot 47.2 percent from the field, where they are 7-0 when surpassing the 45 percent mark.
Columbia will hope to continue its success next week when it travels up to Ithaca, N.Y. for a rematch. If things once again go the Lions’ way, Cornell could very well be the New York team to start off the conference season in an 0-2 hole this time around.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy