NEW YORK — Columbia men’s basketball earned its sixth straight win for the first time since January 2016 on Wednesday night in a 69-57 come-from-behind victory over Loyola Maryland from Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium.
Wednesday night’s win was Columbia’s fifth home victory of the month. The last time the Lions (6-2) won five home games in the same calendar month was March 2016. It’s also the first time Columbia has recorded six wins in the same calendar month since January 2016.
“I’m really happy with the effort the guys are giving, it’s just constant,” head coach Jim Engles said postgame. “All the stuff they’ve been doing is starting to show up.”
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa poured in 16 points in the second half and finished with a game-high 18. The junior guard has now scored in double-figures in seven out of eight games this season. Avery Brown (15 points) and Kenny Noland (13 points) rounded out Columbia’s trio of double-figure scorers. Blair Thompson tallied a career-high and team-best 10 rebounds.
“It’s great, we have to take it day-by-day,” Brown said postgame about the winning streak. “We’re not trying to get ahead of ourselves. We’re trying to focus on our strengths and weaknesses and just keep building.”
Columbia erased a seven-point deficit by exploding with a 24-5 run over the last nine minutes of the game to earn the win. Trailing 52-45 with 9:43, the Lions used the free-throw line to close the deficit, as three from Rubio De La Rosa and a pair from Brown cut the Greyhounds’ lead down to two points.
A hook shot from Jake Tavroff capped a 7-0 Columbia run and tied things back up at 52-52. The Lions’ defense held the Greyhounds (1-6) scoreless for over four consecutive minutes following its own 12-0 run earlier in the half. Tavroff finished with six points and six boards (three offensive) in his season debut.
“He really played very well,” Engles said about Tavroff. “He really helped us a lot and was a hidden key for the game.”
Following a three-pointer from the Greyhounds, Columbia would go on another 8-0 run over the next minute, highlighted by triples from Noland and Thompson, to regain a 62-55 lead with just 3:09 left to play.
The total run grew to 24-3 thanks to a Rubio De La Rosa three-pointer as the shot clock expired with 1:19 left to play, followed by a slam from Tavroff put the finishing touches on the win.
Josh Odunowo got the Lions on the board with a hook shot off glass in the first minute of the contest, but neither Columbia or the Greyhounds could pull away early.
A jumper from Rubio De La Rosa with 14:24 on the clock in the first half put Columbia up 11-8. Later in the opening half, Brown came away with a steal and dunk, igniting a 10-2 Lions run which also included three pointers from Noland and Noah Robledo, to put Columbia in front 21-11.
Loyola fought back to tie the game up at 31-31, but with 1:25 to play in the half, Brown absorbed the contact and finished a reverse layup to reach double figures and put Columbia in front by two points. The Greyhounds would score with the clock winding down to tie things up heading into halftime at 33-33.
Columbia hits the road to face New Hampshire on Sunday at 12 p.m.
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