Barbour made faces like this en route to 1,000 career points

In some of the final contests before a “break” for finals, the Lions came away with some big wins. In the Men’s Basketball game this afternoon, senior Brian Barbour reached the 1,000-career points milestone, making him just the 25th player in program history to achieve it. Barbour’s 19 points helped the Lions to a 54-42 road win against American to end the semester right. Women’s Swimming & Diving also had a big weekend, pummeling Penn on Friday in their first Ivy League win of the season. But it wasn’t all holiday cheer for CU. Women’s Basketball lost a heart-breaker to Iona that came down to the final seconds, but the team will have another chance to start finals on a high note when they take on Saint Francis on Tuesday at home. Could make for a nice reading week study break…

Get the rest of the details from this weeks games after the jump.

Men’s Basketball (5-4):

Results:

American 54-42 (W)

Overview:  This afternoon, the Lions took on American in DC, coming away with a win in a low scoring match-up that marked Columbia’s last game before a break for finals. It took over nine minutes of play for the Lions to sink a field goal, but they turned it on late in the half with a 10-0 run to take the lead 20-14. Senior Brian Barbour tallied seven points in the first half, surpassing the 1,000-career points milestone as only the 25th player in program history to do so. In the second half, freshman guard Grant Mullins caught fire, scoring 12 points in the opening ten minutes of the half and helping the Lions to a 15-point advantage. Toward the end of the game, Barbour’s consistently at the free throw line kept American at a safe distance as the Lions went on to win it, 54-42.

Up Next:  The Lions return to action on 12/22 to take on Elon at Levien Gymnasium.

Women’s Basketball (1-8):

Results:

Colgate 48-67 (L)

Iona 63-67 (L)

Overview: On Tuesday, the Lions headed to upstate NY to take on Patriot League foe Colgate. Down 20-15 in the first half, Columbia rallied to tie the game at 22, thanks in part to a three from sophomore Caitlyn Unsworth, but the Raiders took off on a 15-3 run to close out the half. Colgate used the first half lead to keep the Lions at a distance throughout the second half, despite a season-high 16 points from senior Tyler Simpson.

Simpson continued to post big numbers on Friday as the Lions faced Iona in Levien Gymnasium, scoring a season-high 20 points on the night. She also had the Lions first eight points of the game, but it wasn’t enough to keep Columbia from falling behind early as they trailed by as many as 13 in the first half. Down 26-13, the Lions took off on a 13-4 run to close the gap to four going into the break, including an emphatic three pointer from senior Taylor Ward with 38 seconds on the clock. Columbia claimed the lead for the first time since the opening bucket less than five minutes into the second half with a pair of free throws from Brittany Simmons. The Lions racked up a five-point lead midway through the half, but Iona battled back and the game came down to the final minute of play. Down by five with six seconds on the clock, Simmons drained a three to give the Lions a glimmer of hope, but Iona closed out the game from the charity strip, winning 67-63.

Up Next: The Lions take on Saint Francis on Tuesday in Levien Gymnasium at 7pm. Study break?

Women’s Swimming & Diving (1-2, 1-2 Ivy League):

Results:

Penn 159-140 (W)

Overview: At Penn on Friday, the Lions came out on top after a meet that one swimming source described as “super close and exciting.” The Columbia quartet of Alena Kluge, Katie Meili, Kristina Parsons, and Lily Morris opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay, coming in at a time of 1:46.43. Aileen Smith added a first place finish in the 1000 free, and Meili came through again, winning both breaststroke events. In diving, Kristin Hehir and Katie Furr went one-two in both the one meter and three meter events, with Hehir taking the top spot on 1m and Furr on 3m. The Lions clenched the victory in the 200 IM, in which the Lions placed first, second and third.

Up Next: The Lions break for the holidays and return to action on 1/5 against Bucknell at Uris Pool.

Men’s Squash (1-0):

Results:

Cornell 4-5 (L)

Overview: In the first Ivy League match of the season, the #9 Lions faced #4 Cornell in a closely contested match-up. Down two games to one in the No. 3 spot, sophomore Mohamed AbdelMaksoud came back to win the final two games 12-10, 11-6, to pick up a point for the Lions in the only 5-setter of the day. Junior Alex Goldberg and sophomore Alex Nalle also tallied wins for Columbia in the No. 7 and No.9 matches, respectively. In the No. 1 spot, sophomore Ramit Tandon notched the final point for the Lions after his Cornell opponent retired, but the Big Red took the win in the end with five points.

Up Next:  

Women’s Squash (0-1, 0-1 Ivy League)

Results:

Cornell 0-9 (L)

Overview: In their season opener, the #14 Lions fell to #6 Cornell, dropping all matches on the day. In the No. 1 spot, freshman Catherine Jenkins came back after dropping the first game to take the second, 12-10, but was unable to take the lead over her Big Red opponent.

Up next: The Lions break until 1/12, when they take on Brown at home.