by Joe Budzelek
The Ivy League schedule makers were not kind to Columbia.
Entering conference play, Columbia started with a three-game gauntlet against the Ivy League’s best teams, visiting Cornell and Yale and then hosting Princeton last Saturday. To make matters worse, a hand injury forced Columbia star junior guard Geronimo Rubio de la Rosa to miss the first two conference games.
However, once Rubio de la Rosa returned prior to hosting Princeton, the battle-tested and now healthy Lions started playing their best basketball of the new year, hanging tough with the Tigers throughout the entire game, eventually losing 70-to-62.
Despite Columbia’s 0-3 start in conference play, the Lions’ impressive performance against Princeton built momentum entering Saturday as Columbia (10-7, 1-3 Ivy) defeated Penn (9-10, 1-3 Ivy) 84-to-81 in a packed Levien Gymnasium.
“It was a really great performance by the guys,” said Columbia head coach Jim Engles, “obviously, we needed to win the game. It was integral for us going forward [...] in order for us to stay with the pack. I'm very happy our guys responded in the second half.”
Entering the game, Columbia’s previous three opponents were undefeated in conference play, leaving the remaining five teams, all of which were either winless or with only one win to their name, all fighting for the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament, which will be hosted this season on Columbia’s home court. So naturally, the win on Saturday was essential.
Early in the game, Penn’s overall size overpowered Columbia under the offensive boards, with both freshman guard Tyler Perkins (25 points, 3-for-9 from three) and junior big Nick Spinoso (17 points, 8-for-12 from the field) securing four offensive boards apiece. But, in the second half of the game, Columbia cranked up the attention and effort under the boards.
“Good teams share that rebounding wealth,” said Engles, “It’s not just the 6’10 guy who should be your leading rebounder. It’s something we work on every day. These guys get a little sick of the rebounding drills. I’m glad it stepped up in the second half, we had some big rebounds there.”
Senior forward Josh Odunowo (8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) continued to show why he is one of the best glue guys in the conference, as his late-game energy and defensive intensity helped broaden the Lions’ lead. “He’s so important to our team,” said Engles, “He’s the guy where our universe revolves around. He’s such a high intensity kid with a very high IQ and he’s very selfless.”
Listed at only 6’6 215, Odunowo one-upped Spinoso with a late game sequence with the undersized Lion posting up and scoring against Spinoso and then immediately shutting down the talented Penn big on the other end.
“He is undersized, but he battles relentlessly and that last rebound was huge for us,” says Engles, “He comes up with [winning plays.] It’s not something that always shows up in the stat sheet, but his leadership is really indispensable.”
Three minutes into the second half, the typically placid Columbia head coach publicly deplored the team’s effort under the boards, but soon after, the Lions went on a 14-to-5 run that helped build Columbia a seven-point lead early in the second half. Reflecting on that swing, sophomore guard Kenny Noland (15 points off the bench) share that it was great “just to feel the momentum shift to our side and luckily, I was able to knock down a couple shots.”
In addition to Odunowo’s grit and Noland’s spark, the second half set the stage for sophomore guard Avery Brown to finish with a season-high six assists and Rubio de la Rosa finish with a season-high 24 points and 5 three-pointers made.
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| Junior guard Geronimo Rubio de la Rosa sets up for his fifth three-pointer of the night, a season-high. |
Junior guard Zavian McLean also continued the recent uptick in the production and efficiency of his offensive impact, scoring 12 points (5-for 6 from the field) without giving up a single turnover. Throughout the last six games, McLean has scored at least 12 points in four of those games. His 76 total points scored ranks as his most productive six-game scoring span of his career.
Moving forward, Columbia has its eyes set on the fourth seed in Ivy Madness and they are about to embark on their lightest stretch of conference play as they avoid the Ivy’s top-three seeds through next six games before finishing conference play similarly to how it started: with three of its final four games against Yale, Princeton and Cornell.
Focusing on what is immediately ahead of the team, Engles shares “we got to play more physically. We’ve got to match the other teams on the glass. That’s not really a strategy thing, that’s a physicality thing.” To help keep that intensity up, expect Columbia to continue to flex their depth and compete with 11- or 12-man rotations.
After hosting opponents for the previous two weeks, the Columbia Lions will be on the road next weekend visiting Harvard on Friday (10-7, 1-3 Ivy) and Dartmouth on Saturday (5-12, 1-3 Ivy).
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