Record-Breaking Columbia Team Heads To CollegeInsider.com Tournament Championship
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Syracuse isn't the only New York men's college basketball team still alive for a postseason title.
Columbia will play UC Irvine in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Levien Gymnasium in Morningside Heights.
The Lions advanced to the final with an 80-65 win Sunday night over NJIT. Moado Lo scored a season-high 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting, with six assists, three steals and two blocked shots for Columbia (24-10).
Alex Rosenberg added 16 points, Grant Mullins had 12 and Luke Petrasek scored 11 apiece for the Lions. Lukas Meisner hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds.
Columbia broke the school's single-season record for most wins in a season, surpassing the 23 victories by the 1967-68 team.
The Lions opened the tournament by blowing out Norfolk State 86-54, then edged Ball State 69-67 in the second round before facing NJIT.
Columbia is led by Lo, who averages 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Rosenberg averages 13.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg, and Mullins averages 13.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 3.3 assists per contest.
UC Irvine (28-9) is led by guard Luke Nelson, who averages 13.7 ppg and 3.9 apg. Seven-foot-6-inch center Mamadou Ndiaye averages 12.1 points and 7.2 rebounds.
The Anteaters reached the NCAA Tournament last season.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
