Gamecenter: Columbia 82, Yale 64

1st 2nd Final
Columbia (14-12, 5-7 Ivy) 44 38 82
Yale (13-12, 9-3 Ivy) 29 35 64
Lee Amphitheater – New Haven, CT Boxscore
 
Keys to the Game
Key sequence Columbia had jumped out to a 17-5 lead and still led by nine with 2:32 left in the half, when John Baumann connected on a three-pointer. Following a quick flurry of turnovers by both sides, Brett Loscalzo fed Baumann for a dunk and a foul by Nick Holmes with 44.0 seconds left. Holmes then was assessed a technical foul after the play, and Joe Bova hit one of two, then Baumann hit his free throw. Columbia then was awarded the ball because of a dead-ball technical foul, and Mack Montgomery got a driving layup near the end of the shot clock to cap off a 9-0 Lion run that gave them a 44-26 lead with seven seconds left in the half. Eric Flato banked home a three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer, but Yale still went into halftime down 15.
Key sign it was over The expected second-half Yale run never materialized, as Columbia pushed its lead up over 20 points shortly after halftime. Consecutive three-pointers by freshman Niko Scott gave the Lions a 70-42 advantage midway through the second half, and which a costly third Ivy loss became inevitable for the Bulldogs.
Key performance Columbia freshman Kevin Bulger had the best game of his young collegiate career with 17 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 25 turnover-free minutes off the bench.
Key statistic The Lions shot 15 of 25 (60.0 percent) in the first half, compared to 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) shooting by the Bulldogs. Columbia ended the game shooting a torrid 59.6 percent.
Notes

– Baumann was the game’s top point man with 20 on 7-for-12 shooting, while Ben Nwachukwu broke out of a personal slump with 14 points while hitting all seven attempts from the floor.

– Flato and Caleb Holmes tied for high-scoring honors for Yale with 15 points apiece.

– Columbia managed to rebound at 43.5 percent offensively against the nation’s best defensive rebounding team — while limiting Yale to just 25.0 percent at its offensive end. The Lions owned a 13-5 edge in second-chance points.

– Turnovers were relatively even — 10 for Columbia, 11 for Yale — but the visitors outscored their hosts 16-9 in points off turnovers.

– Columbia coach Joe Jones was assessed a technical foul in the first half after a foul call on Jason Miller on a Caleb Holmes bucket. Holmes hit all three free throws for a five-point possession.

– The win was just the second for Joe Jones in eight career games against his brother.

– Columbia will look keep its chances at a .500 Ivy season alive when it hosts Dartmouth (9-16, 4-8 Ivy) on Friday, March 2, at 7:00 pm ET. Yale will try to stay mathematically alive when it takes on Ivy leader Penn (19-8, 10-1 Ivy) in Philadelphia.

Jake Wilson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Basketball U.

Jake Wilson wrote 754 posts

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