Lions Split First Ivy Road Trip

Led by near-flawless performances from seniors Brett Loscalzo and John Baumann, Columbia men’s basketball cruised in New Haven on Friday night, beating Yale 71-58.

With Loscalzo on the sideline the following night at Brown, the Lions stumbled at the start of the second half, splitting their weekend road trip after a 68-63 loss. Baumann, who made a strong case for player of the week honors, averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds over the weekend for the Light Blue.

The Lions jumped out to an early nine-point lead against the Bulldogs, and a mix of zone and man-to-man defense kept Yale off-balance. The Bulldogs didn’t hit their first field goal until more than three minutes into the game, with a defender challenging on almost every possession and shot.

Columbia jumped out to an 11-2 lead, keeping Yale off the board for over three minutes. Ben Nwachukwu scored a quick nine for the Lions, establishing a low-post presence that had been sorely missed. The Elis came back quickly, and the two teams battled back and forth, with Columbia holding a slim margin. The Lions went into the break with a 35-29 lead, but that belied a dominant half in which they significantly out-shot and out-rebounded the Bulldogs.

Columbia’s ball movement, sparked by a mistake-free game by Loscalzo, led to open looks and an incredibly efficient 58 percent shooting percentage in the first half. The lead prevented the Lions from pressing their offense, with most shots coming within the natural flow of the game.

Yale cut the lead to two with 11 minutes remaining in the second half, but open three-point looks stretched the lead back out to 10 with a little over five minutes remaining. The lead grew to 13, as the Lions went on to win 71-58.

Head coach Joe Jones said, “I was really proud of the way we came out tonight. We had a tough weekend last weekend, but these guys have always bounced back, they’ve always responded. It was just good to see them play the game they’re capable of playing the game.”

The next night against Brown, after a few minutes of sluggish play, Columbia’s offense didn’t look like it missed Loscalzo at all. Kevin Bulger, normally noted for his defensive abilities, picked up five assists in the first half after assuming most of the ball-handling responsibilities from Kashif Sweet, who seemed unable to fit in the team’s offensive sets. Baumann controlled the first half with 16 points, repeatedly getting position under the basket and converting on high percentage attempts.

The slow place of the Brown offense mitigated the absence of Loscalzo, but the Lions were unable to control the tempo of the game without their floor general. Double teams took Baumann out of the offense in the second half, and Columbia stumbled out of the gate. What had been a three-point lead at the break became an 11-point deficit. Both on offense and defense, the Lions looked lost.

Down by six with only 32 seconds remaining, Baumann hit his second field goal of the half and picked up a foul, converting the three-point play. Columbia deflected the Bears inbounds attempt, but were unable to come up with the loose ball, and Brown’s Peter Sullivan sealed the game with a pair of free throws.

“We had a good first half, but we just had a lapse for about ten minutes in the second half,” Baumann commented. “You just have to give them [Brown] credit cause they took advantage of a couple of lapses.”

The Lions, who fell to 1-3 in conference play, face Penn and Princeton next weekend at home.