Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker at Columbia, 53-49

(boxscore)

11/24/04 -Senior Matt Preston scored 20 points and added 11 rebounds to lead Columbia to a 53-49 victory over Long Island University on Wednesday night in Levien Gym.

Seven lead changes and four ties highlighted the first half. The Blackbirds (1-1) grabbed their largest lead, 24-19, on 10-footer from freshman Albert Forbes (Bronx, N.Y.) with 3:16 remaining in the stanza. LIU led 26-22 at intermission.

The Lions, who went 0-for-8 from behind the arc in the first half, came out firing in the second half. A 3-pointer from Jeremiah Boswell just 12 seconds into the half cut the lead to one, 26-25. The teams exchanged field goals over the next five minutes of play with the advantage shifting back-and-forth. Freshman Paska Morkeliunas tallied four consective points- a field goal and two free throws -to give the Blackbirds a 32-30 lead with just under 15 minutes remaining.

The Lions roared back behind their senior forward. Preston registered the next seven consecutive points in a two-minute span to give the Columbia a five-point lead at 12:37.

LIU continued to fight back, cutting the lead to a single point twice in the final four minutes. Freshman Randy Jones (West Palm Beach, Fla.) nailed a stand-up jumper with 3:06 to pull within one, 46-45.

However, the Lions closed the door from the free throw line. Columbia went 7-for-10, including a 5-for-6 performance from Preston, from the charity stripe in the final two minutes.

Sophomore James Williams paced the Blackbirds with 13 points. Jones added nine.

LIU continues its road swing, taking on Boston College on Tuesday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m.