Lions come up short in Ivy opener against Penn

Down by three with three seconds remaining, Chris Crockett stepped up to the free throw line. Even if the senior guard made both foul shots, the Lions would need a miracle to pull off the victory. Crockett sunk his first shot easily, though his second attempt bounced off the rim. Columbia managed to come up with the rebound and got the ball into Brian Barbour’s hands. Barbour seemed to get a three off in time, until his shot just missed, hitting the back of the rim. For a moment, the crowd of over 2,000 people held its breath. But the shot didn't count. The men’s basketball team (11-6, 0-1 Ivy) fell just short in its Ivy League opener, losing to the Quakers 66-64.

“We were just trying to pressure them up, speed them up, and make a little comeback at the end," Barbour said of his team's late-game surge. "We did a good job fighting back—we just have to finish it.”

The game was close throughout, but Penn (8-9, 1-0 Ivy) led for most of the contest. Both teams started off slow in the first half, with the score remaining tied at 2-2 until just about six minutes in. However, the Quakers jumped ahead with a layup from sophomore forward Fran Dougherty at 14:01 and spent most of the half building on that lead. The Quakers benefited from poor shooting by the Lions, as the Light Blue made just six of its first 16 shots.

After Penn stretched its lead to six with under seven minutes to play, Columbia found its form and started chipping away. The Lions, led by junior point guard Barbour, closed out the first half with a 12-2 run, putting them up 27-23 at intermission.

Columbia's lead was short-lived, as the Quakers regained their advantage on a jumper by freshman forward Henry Brooks less than two minutes into the second stanza. The Lions' shooting woes returned—they made only 40 percent of their shots in the second half as opposed to nearly half of their baskets in the first.

Penn, on the other hand, went off in the second half, making 12 of its 20 shots and four of its eight three-pointers. The Quakers' second-half surge was led and orchestrated by senior guard Zack Rosen, who seemed to make every tough shot down the stretch. Rosen scored 13 of his 15 points and dished out three of his five assists after halftime.

One of Rosen’s crucial buckets came with 2:06 remaining in the game. Up until that point, Columbia had kept it close, but Rosen’s jumper put his team up by nine. The game appeared to be over. But the Lions fought back. Barbour made two free throws with 1:46 remaining, to cut the deficit to seven, and sophomore guard Meiko Lyles followed that up with a three-pointer, making the score 59-55 with 1:23 to play.

Rosen again made a clutch jumper, giving Penn a 61-55 lead with just 45 seconds to play. Barbour, Rosen’s counterpart, responded immediately by knocking down two foul shots after an inexplicable foul by the Quakers’ Rob Belcore on Columbia’s inbound. Light Blue freshman forward Alex Rosenberg followed Barbour’s lead and made two free throws of his own just five seconds later. The score was now 61-59 Penn with 40 seconds to play.

The Lions fouled Belcore, who made just one of his two free throws. After Columbia junior forward John Daniels grabbed the rebound, Barbour tore down the court and drove straight to the basket for a layup that cut Penn’s lead to one with 18 seconds left.

Columbia fouled again, but this time senior guard Tyler Bernardini made both, putting his team back up by three. Barbour responded with a jumper to bring the deficit back to one—this time with just six seconds left to play—but another foul on and pair of successful free throws by Bernardini resulted in a three-point lead for the Quakers. Crockett’s first free throw would be the last point the Lions scored that night.

The Lions, who were plagued by bouts of poor shooting all night, particularly struggled from beyond the arc, making just three of their 19 attempts from downtown. Penn made four of its 13 treys, all of which came in the second half. Barbour led all players with 25 points and six assists.

The Lions return to the court on Saturday to take on Princeton. “You got to refocus immediately," senior captain Steve Egee said. "There’s no time to mope.”

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Levien.