big wins

columbia started its journey to the ivy league title and a place in the ncaa tournament as well as possible, edging the cornell big red at levien, 74 -70, on the 16th and then whipping the ithacans at newman arena, 79 – 68.  two weeks into league play and the lions are tied for first with yale.  the two victories against bill courtney’s crew revealed an increasingly comfortable and confident light blue. with floor leader isaac cohen still recovering from a pcl injury, the remaining 75% senior core of the team – maodo lo, alex rosenberg and grant mullins – are sharing the ball efficiently among themselves and their underclassmen running mates while making sure coach smith’s edicts are enacted.  junior luke petrasek is showing the three point shooting efficiency and rebounding ferocity of a legitimate stretch four.  his classmate, jeff coby has run off a couple of double doubles and appears ever more comfortable in the offensive flow.  meanwhile, c.j. davis, the queens bred point guard who appears the likely floor leader of the squad next season, had his best game to date at cornell.  kyle castlin, the leading first year scorer in the ivies last season, has stepped into cohen’s slot in the starting rotation and given the lions an increased offensive athleticism.  lukas meisner and chris mccomber (who replaced rosenberg in the rotation last year) bring additional size and defensive rebounding to the mix.  the light blue is deep as league play heats up.

cornell came to levien on the sixteenth with robert hatcher, its 19 point a game scoring leader, featuring a walking cast on his injured right ankle.  first year phenom, and two time ivy rookie of the week, matt morgan stepped into the breach and dropped 29 points on the lions. he was joined in tormenting columbia by the big red’s full court defensive pressure which forced the lions into 15 turnovers on the night.  in this regard, however, the visitors were somewhat undone by their own work.  though they frequently turned the light blue over, cornell’s pressure also resulted in numerous foul calls and the lions made the best of their free throw opportunities, cashing 23 – 29 on the night and thereby overcoming a subpar 30% effort from beyond the three point arc.  the 17 point edge the lions enjoyed at the charity stripe reflected a deeper difference between the squads than home court loving zebras. the cornell backcourt starters outscored columbia’s by 40 – 24 but the lions owned the front court with coby, petrasek and rosenberg overmatching david onoruah, jordan abdur-ra’oof and stone gettings, 34 – 9. columbia was bigger at virtually every spot on the court and that size told.

the lions headed up to ithaca on the 23rd, ahead of the blizzard arriving on  morningside heights.  thirty seconds into the rematch, when matt morgan faked to the three point line and then blazed past grant mullins to lay in a toss to the rim, one might have been forgiven thinking it would be a long afternoon for the blue.  similarly, when troy whiteside turned over luke petrasek and raced downcourt to forge a 6 point lead for the big red at the 3:19 mark of the period, a lion rooter might wonder if home court was going to belong to the home team.  false indicators, both moments, it would prove as mullins focused and dug in to hold morgan to a measly eight points for the half.  though the first year phenom would score 26 on the night, he was never the pestiferous thorn he had been at levien.  likewise, whitesides’s theft and bucket marked the very brief high water mark of cornell’s late afternoon as the lions went on a period spanning run that lifted them from six down with three and a half minutes left in the opening period  to an eleven point lead two and a half into the second.  though bill courtney’s crew never entirely quit, the game was over.  a couple of cornell pushes were promptly countered by the lions and they would head back home with a 79 –  68 win, a series sweep and a share of first place in the ancient eight.

once again, the light blue front court dominated with luke petrasek tallying 16 while grabbing eight boards and jeff coby snagging seven rebounds.  dave onoruah managed 10 points and eight rebounds, but he was overmatched.  additionally, the lion three point attack, which had been missing at levien on the 16th, was on full display as they drained thirteen treys at a 54% clip.  maodo lo led the attack from the backcourt with 18 points while first year c. j. davis added another 11. the light blue moved the ball crisply on the perimeter for open looks as well as working the orb efficiently high – low and back again.  the backcourt further complicated the lives of the cornell big’s by snagging 13 rebounds.

the victory sets the lions up for two weeks on the road, culminating with a battle in new haven against justin sears. brandon sherrod and the rest of the eli band of criminals.  first up though, coach paul cormier’s big green who just dropped harvard in hanover for the first time in a half dozen years.  dartmouth whipped our heroes twice last season and coach smith will surely drive this point home to his charges.  columbia is playing its best ball of the season and they can’t let up right now.  BEAT DARTMOUTH!  should be its sole emphasis until the final horn blows in new hampshire on the 29th.

peace out and d up,

paulie b