Columbia men’s basketball was defeated by Yale 60-54 on Saturday night at Schiller Court at Levien Gymnasium. The game marked the final home appearance of the season for the Lions, who now hold a record of 16-11 overall and 5-8 in Ivy League play.
Before tip-off, Columbia honored seniors Avery Brown, Kenny Noland, Blair Thompson, and Zine Eddine Bedri. Kenny Noland played nearly the entire game and scored a team-high 20 points. With this performance, Noland reached 1,208 career points, tying him with Sean Couch ’87CC for 17th place on Columbia’s all-time scoring list. Blair Thompson added seven points in his last home game.
Yale improved to 22-5 overall and 10-3 in conference play after shooting efficiently from the field (22-of-40). The Bulldogs led throughout the contest. Columbia struggled early with turnovers but improved ball security as the game progressed. In total, Columbia committed ten turnovers in the first half but only four more after halftime while forcing nine Yale turnovers in the second period.
The Bulldogs began with a strong start, going up 12-0 by forcing five quick turnovers and making their first four shots before the opening media timeout. Noland responded for Columbia by converting a four-point play to reduce Yale’s lead to ten points with twelve minutes left in the first half.
Columbia narrowed Yale’s advantage to three points late in the first half after another three-pointer from Noland but went into halftime trailing 34-25 following a scoring drought. Early in the second half, Columbia capitalized on Yale’s mistakes to cut the deficit to three but then failed to score for two minutes while Yale extended its lead again.
With less than two minutes remaining, Noland intercepted a pass and hit two free throws to make it a four-point game. Although Yale did not score for over three minutes late in regulation, they sealed their win by converting five free throws in the final minute.
Columbia will finish its regular season next Friday at Harvard’s Lavietes Pavilion at 7 p.m.
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