The Lions pushed the game into overtime after going on a 16-0 run late in the second half, finally crushing the Bearcats in overtime for an impressive comeback victory.

After a close first half, Binghamton pulled away from Columbia for a 69-45 lead with 12 minutes to play. Incredibly, Columbia rallied and made a massive comeback to push the game into overtime. Despite struggling under the basket and giving up 15 points off second-chance shots, the Lions pulled off almost 100% shooting in overtime in order to bring the team to victory. CU was led by first year Geronimo De La Rosa (CC ’25), who had 21 points and six assists for the game, and Josh Odunowo (CC ’24), who pitched in 16 points.

First Half

The Bearcats came out swinging in the first half, and quickly grabbed a 13-2 lead only 4 minutes into the game. Columbia answered by going on a 9-0 run with three 3-pointers, bringing the Lions closer to the Bearcats. Columbia got their first lead of the game just over 10 minutes into the half, when De La Rosa knocked down a bucket from behind the line. CU and Binghamton continued to go back and forth, with both teams going on scoring runs in an attempt to outdo each other before the end of the half. Tyler Bertram of the Bearcats was a standout player, knocking down 18 points in the first half, with more than half of those being scored in the last 5 minutes. However, this wasn’t enough to take down the Lions, who had a deep bench this game, with 9 players scoring in the first half. The teams finished the half tied after graduate student Luke Bolster hit a 3 to close out the half.

Halftime: 38-38

Second Half

Binghamton once again started the half out strong, going on a 13-0 run early in the half and forcing Columbia to take a timeout five minutes in. Bertram was unstoppable this game, scoring a career high 29 points, 11 of which were in the second half. He led the Bearcats to a massive 16-point lead with 12 minutes to go in the half, at which point it was not looking good for the Lions, who were once again struggling to get the ball in the hoop, shooting only 14% from the 3 point line for the half. With just over four minutes to go in the half, the Bearcats were up by 10 after a short period of time in which both teams failed to score. The Lions refused to go down without a fight, however, and Columbia went on an incredible 16-0 offensive run while simultaneously playing lockdown defense. Zavian McLean (CC ’24) led the charge by scoring two back-to-back 3’s to tie the game at 69-69 with 44 seconds to go. Binghamton called a timeout with 14 seconds left in an attempt to set up a win at the buzzer, but missed their final shot, sending the game into overtime.

End of Second Half: 69-69

Overtime

Although Binghamton scored the opening two points in overtime, there was no question that the final five minutes of the game belonged to Columbia. The Lions had impeccable shooting, scoring 100% from both the field and the three-point line in OT, giving the Bearcats absolutely no chance to catch up. Columbia scored 16 points to Binghamton’s eight, leading to the Lions’ first win of the season.

Final Score: 85-77

The Lions will be playing the College of Mount Saint Vincent (1-3) at home on Saturday, November 20. Tipoff is at 2 pm, and you can buy tickets to the game here. Tickets are free for those with a valid CUID.

Older Men’s Basketball via Bwog Archives