Columbia is back in control.
Idle since a devastating overtime loss to Princeton last Saturday, the Lions bounced back with a brilliant offensive performance to beat Harvard, 90-76, on Friday night at Levien Gymnasium. The Lions shot nearly 67 percent in the second half to sweep the five-time defending league champions for the first time since 2008.
The night fell perfectly for Columbia (18-8, 7-2) — off to its best overall start in 46 years and its best start in the Ivy League in 23 years — with Princeton’s 75-63 win over Yale moving the Lions just one loss behind both teams in the standings and closer to its first conference title since 1968.
The Lions still have one game remaining against the two teams atop the conference, but coach Kyle Smith reminded his team that next Friday’s game at Princeton — or the season finale against Yale on March 5 — won’t mean much without a home win over Dartmouth on Saturday.
“We really are just trying to lock in on Dartmouth because crazy things can happen in the league,” Smith said. “Everyone wants to get in the narrative that it’s a three-team race and all that stuff, but it can leave you as quickly as it was there.”
The presence of senior stars Maodo Lo and Alex Rosenberg makes it likely Columbia can hang around.
Following a 55-54 slugfest win at Harvard on Jan. 30 — Rosenberg hit a buzzer-beating, game-winning shot that night — the Lions scored their most points in a conference game in nearly five years and scored the most points of any team against the Crimson in nearly six years behind a season-high 23 points from Rosenberg and a sensational finish from Lo.
The Lions’ leading-scorer, Lo had been quiet through the first half — also quieting the crowd after hitting his head on the floor on a drive late in the half and briefly leaving the game — and scored only two points until a buzzer-beating bank shot from beyond half-court gave Columbia a 39-34 halftime lead.
With Harvard (10-15, 2-7) trailing by two with less than 10 minutes remaining, Lo scored 14 of his 22 points the rest of the way, mixing a variety of drives and pull-up jumpers, with three 3-pointers.
“He was a different player,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “They have a lot of firepower, and Lo is a big-time difference-maker with his ability to carry the team in stretches, if they need that and the kind of plays he can make off the bounce.”
Led by Agunwa Okolie’s 20 points, Harvard’s shooting resembled its recent title teams — 11-of-18 3-pointers, 57 percent from the field — but a 25-2 deficit in points off turnovers and a lack of defensive discipline showed how much has changed.
Now, it is Columbia’s chance to climb to the top, in position to end nearly five decades of futility with two more winning weeks.
“It’s what we hoped for,” Rosenberg said. “I talked to Lo going into the summer before we left and I was like, ‘Listen, we have one chance to do this, and we want to make sure we give ourselves the best chance to do it.’
“We’re here, we’re in good shape, we’re healthy right now, and if we’re able to stay positive and make sure we’re mentally in it at all times, we’ll have a good chance to win every game.”