How significant was Saturday afternoon’s result at Pizzitola Center?
Brown plays its next four games on the road. Its potential path to Ivy Madness could be all but closed by the time the Bears take their home floor again.
Columbia dealt the hosts a damaging defeat with a strong offensive effort. The Lions built an 18-point lead inside the final seven minutes and eased to an 83-69 triumph.
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Brown allowed 54.5% shooting and 44 points in the paint. Columbia closed at a sizzling 63.9% on 2-pointers and controlled the Bears in all facets. Josh Odunowo led five in double figures for the Lions, netting 13 of his 17 points in the first half.
“I was just doing the same things we work on in practice,” Odunowo said. “Running the offense — credit to my teammates. They found me for a lot of shots.”
Kenny Noland’s 3-pointer with 7:51 left was a good example of just how it went wrong for Brown in this one. Odunowo’s layup attempt in the paint was blocked and Columbia scrambled to pick up the loose ball. Noland eluded his defender on the left wing and swished a jumper as the shot clock expired, one of multiple field goals down the stretch that prevented the Bears from building any momentum.
“I was just happy with the way we responded,” Columbia coach Jim Engles said. “Obviously to win on the road in the Ivy League is extremely challenging. I’m really happy for the guys.”
Brown shot 50% in the opening half but lost contact when its offense ran cold. The Bears connected at just 38.7% in the second half, including 6-for-14 from inside the arc. Three members of their starting five – Kalu Anya, Felix Kloman and Aaron Cooley – combined for only 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
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“We just tried to be as solid as possible,” Engles said. “I’m glad the guys were able to sort of follow it.”
The Lions held a 40-34 halftime advantage despite 2-for-11 shooting from deep in the opening 20 minutes. They spread it out thanks to an early 9-0 run out of the locker room, countering a 3-pointer by Kimo Ferrari with a sudden burst. Avery Brown’s driving layup and Zine Eddine Bedri’s jumper in the lane – both off Kino Lilly Jr. turnovers – made it a 49-37 lead with 14:53 left.
“We’ll have an opportunity – even though we lost – to see a lot of good things at different moments of the game,” Brown coach Mike Martuin said. “We’re obviously going to see a lot of things we need to do better.”
Brown didn’t come within six points the rest of the way. Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa nailed a 3-pointer that forced a timeout with 9:28 left and Brown’s drive for a conventional three-point play with 4:23 to play pushed a 63-54 lead back into double digits. Rubio De La Rosa’s four-point play on a jumper and foul out high took Columbia (12-8, 3-4 Ivy League) into the final four-minute segment with full control.
Lilly finished with a game-high 24 points and Nana Owusu-Anane added 14 for the Bears (6-16, 2-5), who now face a daunting road swing through Princeton and Penn next weekend. A following trip to face the Lions and Cornell looks no less difficult – Brown has now lost to both of those teams on the East Side. Its next home tip against Harvard on March 1 could arrive with no avenue remaining to reach the league’s top four.
“We’ll learn from it,” Martin said. “We’ll come in on Monday and be ready to have a great week. We’ve got to be ready to go on the road and win games.”
On X: @BillKoch25
COLUMBIA (83): Odunowo 8-12 1-2 17, Thompson 1-3 0-0 2, Brown 3-7 5-7 11, De La Rosa 4-9 3-4 14, McLean 4-6 0-0 8, Robledo 4-5 4-4 15, Noland 1-5 0-0 3, Cooper 0-1 3-3 3, Eddine Bedri 5-7 0-0 10, Tavroff 0-0 0-0 0; totals 30-55 16-20 83. BROWN (69): Anya 1-4 3-4 5, Owusu-Anane 6-14 0-0 14, Kloman 0-0 0-0 0, Lilly 9-18 2-2 24, Cooley 3-8 0-0 7, Ferrari 3-4 0-0 8, Ndur 2-6 5-6 9, Wrisby-Jefferson 0-1 0-0 0, Lewis 1-1 0-0 2, Lesburt 0-1 0-0 0; totals 25-57 10-12 69.
Halftime — Columbia 40-34. 3-point goals — Columbia 7-19 (Robledo 3-4, De La Rosa 3-6, Noland 1-3, Brown 0-1, Cooper 0-1, Eddine Bedri 0-1, McLean 0-1, Thompson 0-2), Brown 9-24 (Lilly 4-10, Ferrari 2-2, Owusu-Anane 2-4, Cooley 1-4, Lesburt 0-1, Ndur 0-3). Fouled out — Cooley. Rebounds — Columbia 28 (Cooper 5), Brown 26 (Ndur 8). Assists — Columbia 18 (Brown, De La Rosa 4), Brown 16 (Ferrari 5). Total fouls — Columbia 14, Brown 18. Records — Columbia 12-8, Brown 6-16. A — 897 (2,800).
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Brown basketball falls to Columbia, 83-69, Saturday
