Columbia Uses Late Run To Hold Off Delaware, 82-69

Sunday, December 6

New York, N.Y.

2:00 PM

University of Delaware

4-3

Columbia

5-5

Delaware

Columbia

12/6/2015 4:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Delaware Athletics

• Boxscore
• Boxscore (pdf)

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Columbia used a decisive 10-1 run to break a deadlock with less than four minutes remaining as the Lions posted an 82-69 non-league men's basketball victory over the University of Delaware Sunday afternoon at Levien Gym.

After a back and forth second half, Blue Hen senior Marvin King-Davis connected on a free throw with 4:02 remaining to knot the contest at 63-63. However Lions guard Maodo Lo converted a layup, Luke Petrasek drained a three-pointer and Alex Rosenberg scored off a rebound to put the Lions up seven with 2:16 on the clock. Delaware closed within five with 39 seconds remaining following a King-Davis dunk, but Columbia scored the final eight points of the game to pull away.

UD junior guard Cazmon Hayes scored 19 of his career-high 24 points in the opening half to lead the Blue Hens, who had a two-game winning streak snapped while falling to 4-3 on the year. Kory Holden scored a season-high 23 points for the second straight game to go with four assists, while King-Davis reached double figures for the seventh consecutive contest with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Delaware, playing its fourth game in eight days, again utilized just a seven-man rotation.

Columbia, which was picked second in the Ivy League preseason poll, put four players in double figures as the Lions improved to 5-5 on the season. Lo led the way with 17 points, while Luke Petrasek chipped in 16 and Grant Mullins and Lukas Meisner contributed 15 apiece.

“We weren't as solid as we need to be at the end of the game but give Columbia credit, they made some tough shots,” Blue Hen head coach Monté Ross said. “I thought our guys really battled, and I'm proud of their effort. Kory (Holden) and Cazmon (Hayes) were phenomenal, we just need some more from more people, but that will come. Cazmon stepped up big-time today; he was terrific and really asserted himself early on.”

Columbia took the early lead by hitting its first five shots from the field, but Hayes nailed three consecutive three-pointers to put the Blue Hens in front 13-11 at the 15:49 mark of the opening half. Hayes then added five more points before an Anthony Mosley jumper as Delaware extended the run to 14-0 and went in front 20-11 six and a half minutes into the contest.

The Blue Hens led by at least three points the rest of the half, while Holden converted a driving layup just before the horn to give Delaware a 38-32 advantage at the break.

Hayes completed a three-point play in the opening minute of the second half but the Lions answered with an 13-0 spurt, regaining the lead at 47-41 at the 14:45 mark on a Mullins three-pointer. UD responded with a 9-2 run to go back in front by a point on a Holden free throw, and the game went back and forth from there until Columbia's decisive spurt.

Delaware returns to action on Saturday when the Blue Hens take on Marist at 7 p.m. in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Game Notes:
• Curtis McRoy, who made first career start, scored his first career points by hitting two three-pointers
• Columbia out-rebounded UD, 34-32, the first time this season the Blue Hens lost the rebounding battle
• The Lions' Meisner had scored 21 points on the season before scoring 15 vs. Delaware
• The Blue Hens were playing their fourth game in New York City in the last four years
• The game was the first of six consecutive road contests for the Blue Hens

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)