Rams Gore Lions in Opener

Joe Jones has been criticized in the past for his soft nonconference schedules, padding a pre-Ivy record that was often misleading. His team won’t have that problem this year.
A 15-0 run by Fordham in the first half put Columbia men’s basketball away early Friday night, losing their opener 79-61. Tonight they face Delaware State in the opening round of the Preseason NIT.

“My guys are pretty bright,” Jones said. “I think they understand that they could have played a lesser opponent tonight and be 1-0. But at the end of the day, where does that get you?”

Columbia struck first on a jumper by Mack Montgomery, but it would be their only lead of the game. Fordham went on a 12-2 run to take a 14-2 lead, but Columbia came back with their own nine-point run, capped by a John Baumann dunk. Fordham’s Bryant Dunston responded with a powerful dunk of his own, sparking a 17-1 run in the next five minutes.

Columbia would cut the lead to 14 several times in the game, but could not get any closer.

“I think we came out timid from both ends, and they jumped out they got in us early and got a lot of easy fast break points, which is tough to come back from,” said point guard Brett Loscalzo. Columbia’s defense often looked over matched against Fordham’s athleticism. But at times it also seemed as if the Rams could not miss—even the most unlikely of outside shots were going in. Fordham went 11-21 from beyond the arc and shot 56 percent from the field in the half, while holding Columbia to a mere 35 percent.

“Obviously the offense wasn’t clicking, they played well and took us out of what we wanted to do,” senior point guard Loscalzo said. “To be totally honest we just had some open shots for us in the first half that didn’t fall, and it kind of got us in a hole.”

Jones tried responding to his team’s offensive difficulties by substituting Joe Bova and Patrick Foley for Ben Nwachukwu and Niko Scott at the start of the second half.

“We looked a little better offensively late in the first half with Bova in there—we looked a little quicker,” he said. “Joe is more of a perimeter player than John is, so we wanted to go a little smaller .... We seemed to work a little bit better with that lineup.”

The offensive adjustment worked—Columbia shot 46 percent in the second half, but they could do little to stop Fordham’s Marcus Stout and Brenton Butler, who combined for 40 points. Fordham controlled the second period, often leading by more than 20 points.

“I knew it was going to be a tough game for us, but I think this is a game where you can really learn a lot about your team,” Jones said.

Columbia will face another test tonight against three time defending Mid-East Athletic Conference champions Delaware State. The Hornets took a hit in the offseason, graduating the core of their last championship team. They do return some talented players, including versatile 6’6” forward Roy Bright, who should be a difficult defensive matchup for John Baumann. The advantage for Columbia should be in the backcourt, where the Hornets are most inexperienced.

Depending on the outcome of tonight’s game, Columbia will face the winner or loser of Ohio State and University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, on Tuesday night.
Tip-off is at 6 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio.