Lions Look for Second Straight Win

Columbia will continue its northeast road swing tonight with a trip to Fairfield, Conn. to take on winless Sacred Heart. The contest, the Lions’ first since last Saturday’s blowout win over Stony Brook, should give the Columbia offense a chance to establish some consistency in what has been an up-and-down season.

The Lions (2-4) have played below expectations to start the year, struggling to find any rhythm on offense. The team is shooting a mere 35 percent from the field, and 29 percent on three point attempts. The majority of the offense so far has come through forward John Baumann, who leads the team in the early going with 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Columbia is getting little out of its backcourt, with point guard Brett Loscalzo shooting a dismal 29 percent from the field, and only 26 percent from beyond the arc. Fellow guards Mack Montgomery and Niko Scott have added little offensively. Further exacerbating the Light Blue’s offensive woes is an injury to second-leading scorer Pat Foley. Foley, a key reserve guard, separated his shoulder against Stony Brook and is unlikely to play in tonight’s contest.

Sacred Heart (0-6), which will be looking for its first win against Columbia since 2002, returns home after a four-game road tour that proved less than kind. The Pioneers lost all four contests by an average of 17 points each, with last Sunday’s game against SUNY Albany ending in a 75-57 defeat. Sacred Heart has already faced one Ivy opponent this season in Yale, but dropped that game by an 81-71 score.

Columbia should have the advantage on offense, where the Lions should be able to exploit a relatively small Pioneer frontcourt comprised of Brice Brooks and Ryon Howard. Sacred Heart also lacks a single dominant scorer, with four different players averaging nine points per game. The team lives on its outside shooting, attempting over 20 per game, but has made less than 25 percent of its attempts; against Albany, the Pioneers made only four of their 16 three-point tries, with guard Ryan Littke missing on five of his seven shots from distance.

Despite Sacred Heart’s struggles on both sides of the ball, Friday’s game should be a good test to see if head coach Joe Jones’ Columbia squad can replicate last week’s success against an equally weak Stony Brook team.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield. Audio for the contest will be available online for free at the Columbia Athletics Web site.