A feeling of relief swept over the Columbia men’s basketball team on Saturday when the Lions (1-4) grabbed their first win of the season against Manhattan (3-3).
Led by junior guard Brian Barbour, the Light Blue jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, defeating the Jaspers 59-41 on the road.
Manhattan’s defense played its usual full-court press, but the Lions’ ball handlers were unaffected, giving up only 11 turnovers.
“I thought we played with a lot of composure, which is huge when you play a team like that, who tries to speed you up and make you take the tough shots,” Barbour said.
Despite the relentless pressure by the Jaspers, the Columbia offense was patient with the ball, drawing out the clock and waiting for shot opportunities. At the helm of the Light Blue offense was Barbour, who led all scorers with 22 points and four assists. His leadership of the offense demonstrated his ability to step into the role left empty since the injury of senior guard Noruwa Agho.
“He’s one of the best I’ve ever coached in any program as far as his attitude and his work ethic,” head coach Kyle Smith said. “Now he needs to step up a little bit, be a little more vocal, and assume responsibility, which he’s done.”
After taking the initial lead, the Lions pushed the margin to 13 when sophomore guard Meiko Lyles and freshman forward Alex Rosenberg hit back-to-back 3-pointers that made the score 15-2 with 13:25 left in the first half.
Rosenberg had a breakout game in his first collegiate start, scoring 11 points, grabbing five boards, and earning three steals in his 32 minutes on the court.
“The first start you either play really well, or you don’t,” Smith said. “I’m glad he decided to play well. He’s deserved it, so it was good to see him produce.”
Twice near the end of the first period Manhattan managed to cut the lead to five, but the Lions maintained a 27-19 advantage going into the break.
Coming out of the half, the Jaspers displayed a renewed energy while Columbia struggled to get its footing. In just over six minutes of play, the Lions racked up seven team fouls and allowed Manhattan to close the gap to five points.
The Light Blue quickly responded with a 14-0 run that gave the Lions their largest lead of 19 points with 9:49 remaining—a lead they would hold onto until the final whistle.
After the whistle-blowing frenzy at the start of the second half, foul trouble plagued the Lions for the remainder of the game. Freshman center Cory Osetkowski fouled out with five minutes remaining, while junior center Mark Cisco and junior forward John Daniels finished with four personal fouls each.
“For me, I was just late on rotating up to help the guards on penetration,” Daniels said. “But we’ve just got to do a better job of getting there early and seeing plays develop ahead of time so we’re not sliding in late and drawing fouls.”
Manhattan’s leading scorer, junior guard George Beamon, was sidelined due to a thigh contusion. The Jaspers struggled to make up for Beamon’s absence, shooting just 26.2 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from beyond the arc.
“I’ve got to give Columbia a lot of credit,” Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello said. “They controlled tempo, they dictated what they wanted, they got us in their type of game. We just didn’t play well.”
Compounding the Jaspers’ poor shooting were their 21 turnovers, thanks to an energetic Columbia defense. The Lions capitalized on their opponent’s ball handling mistakes with 26 points off turnovers.
Though the Light Blue’s shooting was not ideal—going 21-61 from the field and 6-27 from 3-point range—the Columbia big men were a force on the glass. Led by Daniels’ 11 boards, the Lions had a total of 40 rebounds, 16 of which came on the offensive end.
The Lions’ play on the boards was a complete opposite from last Tuesday night in their 67-53 loss to Stony Brook, when the Seawolves out-rebounded the Light Blue 45-28 overall and 21-7 on the offensive glass.
“I think it took us a half to really pull things together in Stony Brook, for everyone to get gritty and come up with the ones where the guards are coming in,” Daniels said. “But today we did a pretty good job of staying consistent, staying the course, and doing it for 40 minutes instead of 25.”
Stony Brook (2-3) took the lead first in Tuesday’s game and never gave it up.
Trailing 32-20 at the half, the Light Blue fought back in the second period. Aided by 3-pointers from Rosenberg, senior guard Chris Crockett, and freshman guard Noah Springwater, Columbia went on an 11-1 run to cut the margin to eight.
The Seawolves responded, but with 7:32 remaining, Barbour—who had a game-high 23 points—hit a shot from beyond the arc that put the Lions within seven.
That was the closest Columbia would get to tying the game, as Stony Brook pulled away to finish with a double-digit advantage.
Despite the loss at Stony Brook, Smith said the players were determined to practice over the Thanksgiving break to prepare for the game against Manhattan, and the payoff was obvious.
With its first win under its belt, the Light Blue hopes to continue its positive momentum on Monday in its home game against Swarthmore (0-4). The Garnet’s most recent loss came last Tuesday in a 79-67 defeat at the hands of Dickinson.
Tipoff for tonight’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Levien Gymnasium.
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