Columbia Spectator sports - Free Online Doc

By Jake Olson

Spectator Senior Staff Writer

When Ivy play began three weeks ago, the Lions knew that

the weekend of Feb. 11 would be a challenging one, and that

they would most likely be playing the team at the top of the

Ivy standings.

They just didn't expect that team to be the Penn Quakers.

Penn (12-7, 5-0 Ivy) has already distanced itself from the

rest of the League, especially traditional rival Princeton, whom

the Lions will take on at Jadwin Gymnasium on Saturday

night. The Tigers (10-9, 1-4) have stumbled out of the gate

and find themselves in an unfamiliar spot--last place in the

Ivy League.

Princeton started the Ivy season as an overwhelming fa-

vorite, boasting a high RPI ranking resulting from its strong

non-conference schedule. The Tigers, however, opened the

campaign with a surprising loss to Brown, casting some doubt

on their chances of capturing the League title. The defending

champs recovered to beat Yale, but a disastrous sweep at the

hands of Harvard and Dartmouth led some to call last Tues-

day's matchup with Penn a do-or-die for the Tigers. For most

of that game, it seemed as though Princeton had managed to

salvage their season, as they led by as many as 18 points. Penn,

though, mounted a miraculous comeback that culminated in a

70-62 overtime victory and prompted a banner in the Palestra

to proclaim, "The Ivy Cellar Now Has a Backdoor."

"They're definitely an improved team," Columbia head

coach Joe Jones said. "They really dominated that game

against Penn for 35, 36 minutes, and it just got away from them

in the last five minutes. They've looked a lot sharper--I think

they're still adjusting, though."

Penn, on the other hand, has utterly dominated its Ivy op-

position. Before their eight-point victory over Princeton, the

Quakers won their first four Ivy games by an average of 20

points. Home for the weekend to take on Columbia and Cor-

nell, Penn is sitting pretty, carrying into the weekend an eight-

game winning streak and status as the clear Ivy favorite.

"We have to play really well to beat them," Jones said.

"They are playing terrific basketball on both ends of the

floor. They've really just played harder than other teams, out-

toughed them. They're the number one defensive team in the

League, we're number two, and we're really going to have to

bring it on defense and execute on the offensive end if we want

to win."

The Lions (12-7, 3-3), meanwhile, are reeling from a home

sweep at the hands of Yale and Brown. Against Yale, the Light

Blue ran into a team whose back was against the wall. The

Bulldogs dominated throughout the course of the game, never

letting the Lions close the gap and eventually winning 77-67.

Against Brown, on the other hand, the Lions dominated most

of the contest, even limiting reigning Ivy Player of the Year

Jason Forte to only two first-half points while leading by as

many as 11 points. The Bears, however, mounted a comeback,

and Forte hit an 18-footer with 2.8 seconds remaining to give

the visitors a 54-52 victory.

This weekend will be the Lions' first two-game road trip of

the season, and the "Killer P's" pose a formidable challenge.

"It's always difficult whenever you go on the road, and this

is no different," Jones said. "Penn has a great homecourt en-

vironment, but our guys are experienced and they're really

ready to play well in that environment. We respect Penn, but

we're not afraid of them."

I remember that day like it was yesterday.

The morning I moved onto the eighth floor of

Carman Hall, it was sunny and hot, not a cloud

in the sky. There was excitement in the air. I

lugged boxes up stairs happily, full of energy. I

greeted my three suitemates--football players--

with hearty handshakes

and "what up"s.

I asked them: "How's

the team looking?" I

shouted: "Can't wait to

see you up at Wien!"

Oh, how innocent I

was then. The cold, cyni-

cal ways of Morningside

had not yet taken hold

of my young, idealistic

SoCal soul. In those days,

I saw Columbians' lack of

athletic spirit not as a dis-

ease but as an opportunity--an opportunity for

change. I, a revolutionary fan, was going to help

institute that change. Equipped with my bloated

mid-three-peat ego, I entered the Columbia stu-

dent body as an instant fan and joined the ranks

of the Lions faithful.

My, how things have changed (or not).

Now it's February 2005--three and a half

years since I first set foot on College Walk.

The snow is falling on a regular basis, the air

is frigid, and the skies are gray. It is around

that time of the year when freshmen begin

to lose that innocence I once had, when the

disenchantment begins. You can almost see it

in their eyes as that glimmer of pre-Columbia

optimism grows fainter with each passing day. I

walk around campus, no longer seeing carefree

Carmanites with that youthful spark but tired,

overworked Butler bookworms. I used to have

that spark; I used to believe in the future of

Columbia athletics.

Lord knows, that was a long time ago.

After four years, I'm tired--tired of the same

routine year after year. First comes the excite-

ment--a new coach, a new batch of recruits;

then the beginning of the season--a few bright

lights, some solid wins; then League play--the

falling short, the heartbreak.

I find myself now at the end of my college

career. I cry about it daily. Every time I pass by

Alma Mater, I give her a high-five. When I see

Bollinger, I yell at the top of my lungs, "Let's go,

Prez-Bo!" It's been a great four years and I have

no regrets. However, there are a couple things

that I wish could have gone a little different-

ly--namely, the course of Columbia athletics.

PIXBOX

Nick

Summers

(22-18)

Thomas

Boorstein

(22-18)

Kwame

Spearman

(22-18)

Carolyn

Braff

(20-20)

Theo

Orsher

(19-21)

Ben

Mills

(19-21)

Lauren

Clark

(18-22)

Anand

Krishnamurthy

(17-23)

Kevin

Lotery

(16-24)

Jake

Olson

(16-24)

Robert Meyerhoff

Columbia (+12.5) at

Yale

Columbia

This is Columbia

Pride...

Columbia

Dartmouth (-4.5) at

Princeton

Dartmouth

Princeton

Dartmouth

Princeton

Dartmouth

Princeton

Dartmouth

Cornell (-7.5) at

Brown

Cornell

Brown

Cornell

Brown

Cornell

Harvard (+15.5) at

Penn

Harvard

Penn

Harvard

Penn

Harvard

Syracuse (Pick `Em) at

UConn

Connecticut

UConn

Syracuse

UConn

Villanova (-21.5) at

St. John's

St. Johns

Villanova

St. John's

Villanova

St. John's

John's

St. Johns

St. John's

Villanova

St. John's

Washington (-13.5) at

Stanford

Cardinal!

Stanford

Wash

Stanford

Washington

Oklahoma (-9.5) at

Texas Tech

Oklahoma

Texas Tech

Oklahoma

Texas Tech

Texas

Tech

Texas Tech

Oklahoma

THE

BEST

PART

Kwame, I'm

never sitting

next to you in

seminar again...

I don't care

how much you

like my shirts.

I still think a

trained

chimpanzee

could make

better lines than

Alfredo.

To Chris Danzig...

after six years, 12

semesters, and

a lot of fun... I

think it's time to

graduate!

This is for my

co-coords who

made the last 2

weeks so much

fun. Let the

games begin...

Hey Jake: Why

don't you write

my shoutout this
week douchebag

________

___________

Anand,

I will tell the

UVA band that

you didn't like my
column. Few have

crossed the pep

band and lived to

tell about it.

Tino back in

pinstripes... does

life get any better

than this?.

Nick Summers

winning the

Pixbox Winner's

column as his

final sayanora?

The last thing
Nick needs is

more space for

first-person

narcissism.

Welcome to the

buffet of legends,

Summers.

T, I miss you... be

with me.

Big pimpin' here,

big lobster, big

shrimp in here.

Get your fishing

gear.

Shoutout

Unavailable.

TARA ZABOR--STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Matt Preston, fourth in the Ivy League with 14.0 PPG, will close his collegiate career this weekend at Yale and Brown.

A Last Hurrah For Lions Seniors?

See

LOTERY, page A4

Gameday

March 4, 2005 · SPORTS

See how Columbia's backcourt of Brett Loscalzo and Jeremiah

Boswell stacks up against Yale senior Edwin Draughan and Brown

senior Jason Forte in today's edition of Friday Fast Break.

COLUMBIA (12-13, 3-9) at BROWN (10-15, 3-8)

FRIDAY, Pizzitola Sports Center, 7 P.M.

With wins in their final two games against Brown and Yale,

Columbia's seven seniors can walk out of Levien as part of the

winningest team in the program's Division I history.

RADIO: WKCR 89.9FM

Knockin' On

Kevin's Door

Kevin Lotery

Page A4

Page A5

MEN'S BASKETBALL

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

COLUMBIA (12-13, 3-9) at YALE (9-15, 5-6)

SATURDAY, John J. Lee Amphitheater, 7 P.M.

Columbia: Give

Me Reason to

Believe Again

Columbia Spectator - sports (Page 1)