Going in for the game-winner!

Last night, the Lions played their hearts out against Harvard. Lions lover Max Rettig was there to witness the heartbreaking loss.

The game itself was intense, with the Lions and the Crimson sharing back-and-forth 2-point leads.The score was 30-28 in favor of Harvard at halftime. However, Harvard took control in the second half, turning a 16-3 run into as much as a 12-point lead with just 6 minutes left in the game. But, as we’ve come to see so far this season, the Lions have a knack for getting themselves back in the game. Alex Rosenberg and Maodo Lo teamed up to bring Columbia within 2 points at 62-60. Soon enough, Rosenberg tied the game himself with two free throws, and with just 1:15 left in the game, Cory Osetkowski put the Lions ahead 66-64.

But, as was the theme of the game, small leads didn’t hold long. Harvard evened up the game at 68-all with 24 seconds left. Maodo Lo maneuvered his way into Harvard’s territory and, with the game clock quickly expiring and the legions of Columbia students on their feet screaming the countdown, Lo put up a buzzer-beater, only to see the basketball roll around the rim and drop to the side.

The game went into a 5-minute overtime period. Columbia and Harvard traded shots throughout, keeping the score essentially even, and then, with just 7 seconds remaining in a 73-73 game, Alex Rosenberg had the ball in his hands with a chance to win the game. If there’s anyone the Lions and the Columbia faithful want to have the ball in this situation, it’s Rosenberg. The guy scored 34 points in this game. Rosenberg drove towards the basket, collided with a Harvard player, and knocked down the winning shot as time expired. As the fans were going wild, the NCAA officiating crew made the questionable call that the shot was no good due to an offensive charging foul. Then students went wild in a different way. Levien Gym echoed with boos. The band started hurling insults such as “bastard” at the refs as they reviewed the call.

Alas, another 5-minute overtime. Harvard took a 77-73 lead with 4 minutes left, and after Rosenberg (who else?) brought the game within 2, Harvard took control with a 6-point run to open up an 8-point lead with just 36 seconds remaining. At that point, everyone in the stands could feel the disappointment of the earlier blown call sink in. Soon, a stunned and silent Columbia crowd heard the final buzzer sound to the tune of an 88-84 Harvard win.

Alex Rosenberg put up a career-high 34 points to go with a team-high 7 rebounds, and Maodo Lo finished with a very solid 20 points, 5 assists and 5 boards. The team plays Dartmouth tonight at 7 pm in Levien. Please go support them!

34 points all day, ‘erry day via gocolumbialions.com