Columbia Withstands Men's Basketball Rally, 54-49

Tuesday, November 18

New York, NY

7 PM

Boston University

2-3,0-0Patriot

Columbia

3-1,0-0Ivy League

Boston U.

Columbia

Columbia Withstands Men's Basketball Rally, 54-49

November 18, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Coach Jones Postgame

NEW YORK – Despite sophomore Ben Defty earning his first career double-double, the Boston University men's basketball team came up just short at Columbia, 54-49, on Tuesday night.

The Terriers (2-3) trailed by as many as 19 points but kept the Lions (3-1) from hitting a field goal over the final 9:15 to earn a chance at stunning the fans. BU though missed a go-ahead attempt from behind the arc with 30 seconds left in regulation, and Columbia netted three free throws to preserve the victory.

Defty went 7-for-10 in the paint to total 14 points while adding a career-high 10 rebounds alongside two assists and a steal for BU's first double-double of the season. Both freshman Chance Gladden (14 pts.) and senior Ben Roy (13 pts.) also scored in double figures with Roy shooting 2-for-4 in 3-point territory and the rest of the squad combining for 14 missed attempts.

Columbia went 7-for-13 in 3-point territory to grab a commanding 37-20 halftime lead with Miles Franklin hitting two of them en route to ta team-high 10 points. Ryan Soulis matched his point total at 10 thanks to one 3-pointer. The Lions missed all eight 3FG attempts in the second half and shot 22.2 percent overall during the final 20 minutes of action, but Zine Eddine Bedri hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds alongside his six points to help stave off the Terrier rally.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After BU won the tip, the Lions converted on a steal with a hook shot and added Mason Ritter's dunk following Franklin's block for the early 4-0 lead.
Roy scored on junior Michael McNair's steal from behind the arc to pull within one at 16:40, but the Terriers never got any closer with Ritter flushing a 3-pointer on Columbia's next possession.
The bucket sparked the Lions' 17-2 run that was capped by Kenny Noland's trey at 12:17 for a 21-5 commanding lead.
After Ritter extended the lead to 25-7 at 7:49, Franklin scored a 3-pointer to grab the Lions' largest lead of the night, 28-9, with 6:32 remaining in the first half.
BU chipped away and cut the deficit to 32-20 on two McNair free throws at 1:32, but Columbia's Connor Igoe hit two free throws and beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to enter the locker room ahead, 37-20.
Columbia added a dunk to start the second half and grab the 19-point lead, 39-20, but would not be able to pull away any further.
Gladden scored four points on one possession by driving to the hoop for the layup and helping BU retain the ball on his missed free throw attempt to help set up another layup at 13:43.
On the next possession, BU earned another defensive stop, and sophomore Azmar Abdullah scored off a layup to prompt a Columbia timeout at 13:05 with the Lions leading, 42-35.
The Lions responded with a 7-0 spurt over the next two minutes and would maintain a double-digit lead until Roy fed Gladden for a layup and 51-43 deficit at 5:14.
Gladden added two free throws at 3:55 and followed Defty's hook shot plus steal with 1:26 remaining to pull within two, 51-49.
BU earned another defensive stop but missed its final three field goal attempts, including one taken in 3-point territory at 27 seconds.
Noland drained both free throws at 22 seconds, and Eddine Bedri added one more with nine seconds left to seal the victory.

GAME NOTES

Defty topped his previous high of nine rebounds set against Merrimack on Saturday by one to become the fourth active Terrier to earn a double-double after junior Kyrone Alexander, senior Otto Landrum and graduate student Ethan Okwuosa all accomplished the feat at BU dating back to the 2022-23 campaign.
Junior Quinn Nielsen played a career-high 13 minutes and hauled in a personal-best six rebounds against NCAA Division I competition while adding a block.
McNair earned a season-high seven rebounds, one shy of his personal best set last season vs. Colgate, and joined freshman Sam Hughes in earning two steals apiece.
BU committed just five turnovers and forced the Lions into 13 miscues but only managed to outscore Columbia off turnovers, 11-10, while compiling eight second-chance points against six allowed.
Columbia improved to 3-1 all-time in the series with a 2-0 home record after BU won the previous meeting in 2002 at Case Gym.
The contest marked a homecoming for 15th-year head coach Joe Jones, who led the Lions to a combined 86 wins from 2003-10.

UP NEXT

The Terriers will face their third Ivy League opponent this season in Harvard, 74-63, when they meet at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase hosted by the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The Terriers and Crimson will tip off Saturday (Nov. 22) at 1:30 p.m. in their first matchup since 2017.
Harvard leads the all-time series, 40-27, having won the last eight meetings with BU previously prevailing in 2008 on the road, 75-59.
BU and Harvard will face off on a neutral court for the first time since the Crimson won at the old Boston Garden, 83-69, during the Beanpot competition on Dec. 1, 1971.