the bitter pill of a thrilling loss

three weeks into the 2018 – 19 men’s basketball schedule, the columbia lions have yet to win a div 1 game. their fifth fail against such a competitor came this past Sunday when a decent but hardly terrific blue hen team visited from Delaware. the now 6 – 2 hens held off the lions in two overtimes, 87 – 86. it marked Columbia’s second straight one point loss to a div 1 opponent. although the frustrating last minute fail at Fordham may be attributed to coaching or player misfires, the Delaware defeat, stemmed from the inescapable character of this squad.  the exuberant thrills of the battle as well as the ultimate frustration of the loss provide a convenient thumbnail of the team’s gritty virtues and, perhaps, inescapable deficiencies.

of course, the finest pleasures of watching the current edition of the lions comes from the exertions of messr. mike smith.  the diminutive point guard keeps it in fourth gear pretty much from the jump.  he has virtually trademarked his attacks of the hoop against taller opponents and seems most comfortable in the offensive turbulence down low.  his outside shot has improved, however, and he now comfortably shoots and makes the trey when the situation demands.  currently, he seems to be developing a sweet little teardrop floater that he launches about six feet from the bucket.  it remains a work in progress, leaving this spectator holding his breath as the shot gently rises from mike’s fingertips, hangs at the apex of its parabola and then drops elegantly toward the hoop.  once smith masters this bit of weaponry, it will be one of the great delights of the small man’s game in college ball.  when not scoring, smith is effectively distributing the ball to his running mates.  his 4.5 assists per game average would be a bit gaudier if some of his more spectacular dishes were cleanly handled by their intended receivers.  we think particularly of a no look bullet from the top of the key against Marist that whistled past first year forward ike nweke’s nose before sailing out of bounds. that is the kind of pass one should not waste and the kind that smith can deliver on the regular if his posse is alert.  nor does smith shirk his defensive tasks.  he moves his feet relentlessly while guarding opponents.  this discipline would be well imitated by his running mates who too often commit lazy, reachy fouls.

indeed, one could argue that the lions lost the game because of a spate of touch fouls early on.  these are the kinds of calls that drive fans nuts, but the ncaa has made it clear that you cannot hand check – particularly on the perimeter. so it was deeply hurtful when columbia committed 5 fouls in under four minutes at the outset. rodney hunter and gabe stefanini picked up a pair ten seconds apart two minutes in; ike nweke and quinton adlesh another pair – 5 seconds apart, this time, a minute later and patrick tape completed the quintet at the 16:25 mark.  that outbreak of the handsies would put the blue hens in the bonus situation for much of the period.  it makes playing the kind of switching man to man coach engles’ is using this season, that much harder to execute.  every foul the lions give has to have weight.  they are vulnerable on the perimeter, where they were last in defense in the ivies in 2017-18,  and down low where they can be pushed around.

and here we arrive at the source of all their troubles.  they are small.  indeed, they are the shortest team in the ivies.  once league play begins messrs tape and nweke will find themselves fiercely challenged. lukas meisner’s unanticipated decampment for the german professional leagues opened a huge hole in the lions’ rebounding stats.  fortunately, early on, randy brumant has stepped up and, by grabbing almost 8 boards per game, essentially replaced the deutschlander’s contribution.  brumant’s heroics have to be matched by their only true big man – the 6′ 10″ pat tape.  his length, however, is undercut by his lack of bulk.  he can be outmuscled in a way recent columbia centers cory osetkowski  and mark cisco could not.  given the damage wrought by Delaware’s eric carter, we grow nauseous anticipating the ravages likely from Harvard’s terrific seth towns or Yale’s rapidly improving paul atkinson.  messr tape must at least double his current contribution of 3 boards per game if the lions are to have any hope in league.  but even if he does, jake killingsworth, rodney hunter, gabe stefanini, tai bibbs and pete barba will all have to dedicate significant energy to getting the ball off the glass.  the key to competitiveness, much less victory, will not only be how effectively the undersized lion front court rebounds but how much the  guards contribute to this part of each night’s battle.  they will have to make sure they box out their opposite numbers when the boards are being crashed.  rebounds cannot be going to opponents’ smaller players.

having groused about the crew’s, literal, shortcomings, we should consider their merits.  or rather, a particular merit.  the kids don’t quit.  having fallen behind by ten in the second half to a slightly better, slightly bigger, team, the lion squad dug in.  gabe stefanini sandwiched a layup and a jumper in the paint around a lay up by eric carter while mike smith bracketed a three pointer by matt veretto (who tormented the light blue all night) with a lay up and three pointer of his own.  a triple by quinton adlesh with ten minutes remaining brought columbia within three. two minutes later,  pete barba hit a trey from the corner to cut the lead to just one.  carter and his mates were not about to be passed, however, and stretched the lead back to six with five and a half minutes left.  neither side could buy a bucket till messr adlesh drained a trey with 2:38 to play.  that made it a two point game again.  when the irrepressible mr. carter dropped two free throws with just a minute left, it seemed the air had finally left the lions’ balloon.  not so!  the heroic mike smith drove the court for a layup and when stefanini forced a turnover that resulted in a (you guessed it) mike smith trey with 20 seconds left, the squads were headed to ot at 70 all.

the backs and forths of the two overtime periods need not be described here except to say that jake killingsworth, gabe stefanini (twice) and mike smith all hit absolutely necessary shots along the way.  as sport constantly teaches us, however, the other guy is trying too.  eric carter was not to be denied and kept his team in it until darian bryant answered mike smith’s final lay up with a heart breaking three pointer that gave the visitors the 87 -86 victory.

a few hours from now, engles’s crew will hit the hardwood again with regular patriot league opponent, colgate.  the boys from hamilton, ny usually brawl well so the hosts need to come correct.  a div 1 win still awaits.

d up and peace out,

paulie b

in memoriam – allgame begins its current season without longtime reader and close friend, Jonathan Schwarz who passed away late last winter.  he was an enthusiast for these columns as he was for most things in life.  he was a wonderful friend to me, doing services I could not hope to repay even had he lived on many years.

also leaving the scene last fall was beverly rosenstein.  not a reader of allgame, she was unquestionably a greater fan of columbia sports (particularly football) than paulie b.  she was there in the wooden stands of baker field for the epochal win over army back in 1950; she was there for the Ivy League championship run of 1961; she was there throughout the endless losing years of the ’80s and there again for the recent resurrection of the program under al bagnoli.  true lion blue, Bev was, and she’ll be missed not only by her sons but by all who know the words to “roar lion roar.”