Lions Pull Away from Big Green in Second Half

Saturday, February 20

New York, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Columbia

Lions Pull Away from Big Green in Second Half

2/20/2016 8:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Box Score (HTML)Highlights Archived ILDN Broadcast

By: Dartmouth

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Grant Mullins led four Columbia players in double figures with 17 points as the Lions (19-8, 8-2 Ivy) handed visiting Dartmouth a 73-54 defeat on Saturday night at Levien Gymnasium.

Freshman Evan Boudreaux led the Big Green (9-15, 3-7 Ivy) with 16 points and seven rebounds, but was harassed all night into shooting just 5-for-17 from the floor, though he did hit a career-best three three-pointers. Sophomore Miles Wright added 13 and senior Connor Boehm 11 as Dartmouth had its modest two-game win streak snapped.

Columbia completed the season sweep of the Big Green thanks to a strong defensive effort as Dartmouth shot just 32.3 percent (20-of-62) for the game and 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from long range. The Big Green even struggled at the line, converting just 7-of-14 after entering the game with a league-best 73.1 percent accuracy.

But the Lions got off to a slow start as Dartmouth led for most of the first half. Wright drilled a three-pointer to start the Big Green scoring and capped a nine-point run with a lay-in on the break after pilfering the ball for a 9-2 lead.

The Lions closed to within two thanks to some three-point marksmanship by Mullins and Luke Petrasek (who finished the game with 11 points) but with a Boudreaux triple sandwiched between them. Boehm hit the first of two free throws for Dartmouth, then scored off an offensive rebound before Boudreaux dialed it up from distance again to boost the lead back to seven at 17-10.

When Wright hit a tough shot in the lane with 8:30 left in the half, the Big Green boasted their biggest advantage of the game at 24-15. But the Dartmouth offense dried up for the rest of the half with just a Boehm bucket and two Boudreaux free throws as Columbia gradually closed the gap.

Alex Rosenberg began a seven-point spurt with a three-pointer, and Lukas Meisner, who provided 10 points off the bench, finished it off with a putback to make it a two-point difference. Boehm stemmed the tide briefly with a one-hander in the lane, but another Petrasek trifecta and a Rosenberg layup put the Lions on top for the first time in nearly 17 minutes at 27-26. After Boudreaux's two foul shots, Columbia scored the final five points on another Rosenberg layup and a three-pointer by reserve Chris McComber for a 32-28 lead at the intermission.

When Boudreaux started the second half with a basket in the lane, things were looking up for Dartmouth down just two. But Columbia rattled off the next eight points as its leading scorer this season, Maodo Lo, recorded his first two buckets to make it 40-30.

Three-pointers by sophomore Taylor Johnson and Boudreaux spurred a 9-2 Big Green run to cut the deficit to three at 42-39 with 14:11 to play. Poor foul shooting kept Dartmouth from closing the gap ever further, however, as it missed four of six attempts to start the half.

The Lions then ran off a 9-1 run thanks in part to two more baskets by Lo. The difference oscillated between eight and 11 points for a seven-minute stretch as Dartmouth kept close enough to hopefully make a run at Columbia. But after Malik Gill hit a three-pointer with 3:35 to play, the Big Green would not score again while the Lions scored the game's final nine points.

Columbia overcame an 11-for-30 shooting performance (.367) in the opening half to drain 13-of-24 (.542) in the second stanza. Dartmouth also knocked down 11-of-30 field goals in the first half, but dropped off to 9-of-32 (.281) in the second. The Lions also drilled nine three-pointers and sank all but one of their 17 free throw attempts.

On the boards, Columbia had a slight 39-36 edge with Jeff Coby and Lo each snagging seven rebounds. But Lo, like Boudreaux, had a tough night shooting the ball, hitting just 5-of-16 from the floor and missing all seven three-point attempts, but still managed 14 points.

Dartmouth has one more road weekend this season, that coming at Brown and Yale this Friday and Saturday at 7 and 8 p.m., respectively. Both games will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network, while the game against the Bulldogs will also be televised by American Sports Network. Check your local listing for the channel that will broadcast the game against the Ivy League leader.

Notes: Boudreaux had his streak of double-doubles end at three games, but he has led the Big Green in scoring for the last 11 games and rebounding the last nine ... the season series between the two teams has been a sweep each of the past six seasons with Columbia winning four and Dartmouth two ... the Big Green are stuck on 99 wins against the Lions all-time.