The University of Maine men’s basketball team lost to Columbia University 75-56 on Saturday in New York City, with the Lions outscoring the Black Bears by 15 points in the second half.
It was Columbia’s fifth straight win, outpacing the Black Bears by 31 percent from beyond the arc. UMaine shot a combined 13-for-27 from three in their recent victories over Presbyterian College and the University of South Florida, but the Black Bears went just 4 for 21 on Saturday.
In the loss, UMaine moved to 4-4 on the year, and finished a five-game, nine-day road trip with a record of 3-2.
UMaine’s outside shooting wasn’t very effective from the get-go, so the Black Bears relied on their defense to keep them in it. By the break, UMaine had turned ten Lion turnovers, including five steals, into ten points in transition, including a Peter Filipovity buzzer-beating layup going into halftime down 34-30.
Reigning NCAA steals champion junior Kellen Tynes finished with four steals on the day, and was UMaine’s joint-leading scorer — along with senior Filipovity — with ten points. The duo are UMaine’s top two scorers this season.
Columbia turned the tables on UMaine at the start of the second half, quickly building a 46-33 lead in less than three and a half minutes. The Lions strung together two takeaways with three contested Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa 3-pointers, taking the wind out of UMaine’s sails and setting themselves up for a feel-good win at home.
Columbia ended up shooting 7-for-14 from deep on the day, and won the turnover battle 16 to 17. Junior guard Rubio De La Rosa finished 4-for-5 from three and snagged two steals, while sophomore forward Zine Eddine Bedri was the Lions’ leading scorer with 14 points and two 3-pointers.
Next up, the Black Bears will return to campus for a few days, before shipping out to Massachusetts to play Holy Cross on Wednesday. UMaine’s next home game will be on Saturday, Dec. 3 at The Pit, against Brown University at noon.
