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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Columbia
Players Mentioned
Men?s Basketball Sees Ivy Title Hopes Dashed with 58-44 Loss at Columbia
March 07, 2009 | Men's Basketball
The loss, coupled with Cornell's win over Penn, clinches the Ivy League title and NCAA Tournament berth for the Big Red.
“Columbia did a very good job of just taking us out of our stuff,” junior Marcus Schroeder said. “I think they were a lot more active than the first time we played.”
On Feb. 7 in Jadwin Gym, Princeton completed what was its highlight weekend of the season with a 63-35 win over the Lions that followed a 20-point win over the now-champion Cornell.
Even with the possibility of its first Ivy crown since 2004 gone, Princeton's (12-13, 7-5 Ivy) improvement in league play has guaranteed it no lower than an even finish in the conference, which would be a four-game improvement from a year ago.
Princeton led 24-20 at the half and shot 55.6 percent (10 for 18) before the break, but a field-goal drought of 9:40 bridging the intermission allowed Columbia (12-15, 7-6 Ivy) to take what was a 10-point lead at its height with 13:47 to play.
The Tigers pulled within four at 34-30 on a Marcus Schroeder three-pointer with 9:46 left but came no closer. Douglas Davis was the high scorer for the Tigers with 10 points while Schroeder finished with nine.
After the hot first half, Princeton's shooting cooled to 31.8 percent (7 for 22) after the break while Columbia warmed up to 50 percent (12 for 24) in the second half to pull ahead.
K.J. Matsui, whose 5 for 8 shooting from beyond the arc was a key in the Lions' win, led all scorers with 17 points. Princeton out-rebounded Columbia 30-22 and held the Lions to four offensive boards, but the 16-8 turnover margin in favor of Columbia all but nullified the advantage on the glass.
Princeton will close out its final full weekend of Ivy play at Cornell Saturday with a 7 p.m. tip.