As the fall season officially came to a close on Saturday, Columbians everywhere were happy to see the Lions triumph over Brown in double overtime and send the seniors off with a memorable final career game. Bwog Sports analyst, Kevin Powers, recaps the exciting, if controversial, ending to the Lion’s season, and brings you news of this week in Columbia athletics. 

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Football (1-9, 1-6 Ivy League):

Latest Result: The Lions ended their season with a thrilling double overtime victory over Brown 35-28 on Senior Day.

Highlights: In the final game of the season, and the seniors’ final game of their careers, the Lions took on Brown (7-3) at Robert K. Kraft Field looking for some redemption for a disappointing season thus far. After going down 21-7 in the first half, the Lions rallied with a strong defensive effort after the break, holding the Bears scoreless in the second half. In the fourth quarter, quarterback Sean Brackett rushed for a one yard and then two yard touchdown to draw the Lions even with the Bears with just minutes remaining in the game. After Brown missed a 43-yard field goal attempt, Columbia kicker Luke Eddy had a chance to win this game for the Lions, but the attempt was blocked, sending the game into overtime. In the first overtime period, Brown scored on the first play of the game to take the lead 28-21. The Lions, however, responded on their possession as Brackett converted a fourth and one run and then found sophomore Hamilton Garner in the end zone to tie the game and force a second overtime period. Brackett continued his stellar performance in double overtime, breaking numerous tackles in a 16-yard touchdown run to put the Lions on top for the first time all game. Columbia’s come-from-behind victory was threatened when the Bears found themselves on the one-yard line on fourth down, but the Lions defense held strong on the goal line as the Bears fell short of a touchdown. The Lions triumphed in the final game of the season 35-28, sending off their seniors with a thrilling end to their careers.

Special congratulations to seniors who had stand-out performances in the game, including Evan Miller, Ross Morand, A.J. Maddox and Neil Schuster. Miller had a game-high 19 tackles, including three for a loss and a forced fumble, while Morand tallied 10 tackles with a fumble recovery and interception. Maddox had 10 tackles along with a 77-yard interception return, and Schuster had four tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception.

Men’s Basketball (0-3):

Latest Result: The Lions fell to American on Saturday in third straight loss 58-66

Highlights: The Columbia Men’s Basketball team opened the season against defending NCAA Division I Champs UConn, hanging with the Huskies throughout the game. UConn’s Jeremy Lamb led the game with 30 points, helping the Huskies to a 70-57 win over the Lions. In the home opener against Furman, the Lions led 30-19 at halftime, but the Paladins rallied in the second half, winning 62-58. Late in the second half against Furman, All-Ivy League senior guard Noruwa Agho injured his knee and is out indefinitely, a huge blow to the Lions early in the season. Despite playing without Agho, the Lions started the game strong against American on Saturday, ending the first half tied 26-26. In the second half, the game remained close with frequent lead changes and ties, highlighted by six straight points from Mark Cisco to put the Lions up by four with just six minutes left. American rallied, however, coming back to win by eight. Brian Barbour led the Lions with 18 points, and Mark Cisco tallied a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions look for their first win on the road this week, taking on Stony Brook on Tuesday and Manhattan on Saturday.

Women’s Basketball (0-3):

Latest Result: The Lions lost their third straight against Wagner 54-66

Highlights: In their season opener, the Lions fell to Vermont 63-52 as the Catamounts pulled away in the second half despite only being up by two at halftime. The Lions had similar trouble against Sacred Heart, losing 60-42. The Lions were frustrated by turnovers and a low shooting percentage against the Pioneers, committing 17 turnovers in the first half and shooting 21.4% in the second half. On Wednesday against Wagner, the Lions started strong, leading for much of the first half but entered the break tied 26-26. In the second half, the Lions struggled again with shooting, unable to sink field goal for six straight minutes twice, as Wagner pulled away to win by twelve. The Lions fell to 0-3 on the season with the loss. Sophomore Tyler Ward and Freshman Miwa Tachibana both had 11 points on the day, while Courtney Bradford scored nine and led the team with six rebounds.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions head to St. Francis on Wednesday, looking for their first win of the season.

Men’s Swimming and Diving (2-1, 1-1 Ivy League):

Latest Result: The Lions beat Army at home on Saturday 171-124

Highlights: The Lions opened the season last weekend with mixed results, taking down Penn 154-146 before falling to Yale 122-178 the following day. On Saturday, Columbia won 12 of the 16 events, with two wins from sophomore Harry Stephenson in the 1000 and 500 free. The Lions went 1-2 in the 1000 free, 100 back, and 200 fly, and swept the 100 free. With the win, the Lions move to 2-1 on the season.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions will compete in the Princeton Invitational December 2-4th in New Jersey.

Women’s Swimming and Diving (1-0, 1-0 Ivy League):

Latest Result: The Lions took down Yale 161.5-138.5 in season opener

Highlights: The Lions faced Ivy-League rival Yale in a close meet that also saw two pool records broken. The team of Katie Melli, Mikaila Gaffey, Caroline Lukins, and Stella Zhao broke the first pool record of the day with a time of 1:44.06 in the 200 medley relay, while Yale’s Alex Forrester set the second new pool record in the 50 free. The meet came down to the final event, with the winner taking the victory and the undefeated start to the season. In a thrilling 400 medley relay, the Lions’ squad out touched the Bulldogs by seven hundreths of a second, propelling the team to a win in their season opener.

Upcoming Contest: The Lions are currently competing at a three day championship-style meet at the Boston University Invitational.

Cross Country:

Highlights: Following a third-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Northeast Region Championships, the Men’s Cross Country team made history by earning a team bid for the 2011 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship for the first time in program history. Freshman Waverly Neer from the Women’s team will also compete at the NCAA Championships as she earned an automatic individual bid after placing fifth at the Northeast Regionals. Best of luck to the Lions, who race tomorrow in Indianapolis.

goner via NYTimes