Six Bears, led by Owusu-Anane's 27, score in double figures to take down Columbia

Saturday, January 21

Providence, R.I.

4:00 p.m.

Brown University

10-9,3-3Ivy League

Columbia

6-15,1-5Ivy League

Columbia

Brown

Six Bears, led by Owusu-Anane's 27, score in double figures to take down Columbia

1/21/2023 7:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Brown men's basketball team posted a season-high 97 points as they took down Columbia 97-85 Saturday evening at the Pizzitola Sports Center. Brown moves to 10-9 on the year and 3-3 in Ivy action, while Columbia falls to 6-15 and 1-5.

Six Bears, including the entire starting five, scored in double figures. Nana Owusu-Anane posted career-high marks in both points and rebounds with 27 and 18 respectively. He added three assists, two blocks, and one steal to round out the career day for the sophomore.

"Every win is a great win in our league," head coach Mike Martin '04 said. "I thought we played the right way and guys took what the game gave them. It gave Nana a lot of opportunity. He was confident and aggressive and his teammates were looking for him.

"There's obviously still a lot we can improve upon, but we took care of the ball offensively, we didn't turn it over, we shared the basketball really well, and we didn't give up too many second chance points."

Kino Lilly Jr. had 16 points, while Paxson Wojcik had 14, Landon Lewis a career-high 12, Aaron Cooley 11, and Dan Friday 10. Wojcik added seven rebounds, while Lewis had five and Friday led the team in both assists with five and steals with three.

As a team, the Bears shot 50% from the field and 81.3% from the free throw line. They also tied their second-highest assist total of the season with 17.

The 97 points are the most the team has scored since Nov. 16 of last season when Brown had 98 against Johnson & Wales.

Columbia built a 6-1 lead early in the first half, but less than two minutes later the Bears would go ahead 8-6 off the second straight made three by Owusu-Anane. Brown took the lead with 16:08 remaining in the first half and would hold it for the remainder of the game.

The Bears' largest lead of the first half was 13 points and came after a 9-0 run capped by a layup by Owusu-Anane. Brown led 31-18 with 9:35 to go in the frame.

The Lions would get as close as two, but things eventually settled into a five-point Brown lead at halftime, 51-46.

Leading by seven at the 17:13 mark of the second, the Bears used 14 straight points to push their lead to 21 at 71-50 following a three by Perry Cowan.

Columbia attempted a comeback, but the Bears repeatedly answered and ended up pushing the lead back to 21 six more times, the last of which came with 3:11 to go on Lilly's final make of the game.

The Lions closed the gap slightly down the stretch, but it was too little too late as Brown claimed the 12-point victory.

The Bears will now play six of their final eight games of the regular season on the road, beginning with a matchup at Cornell next Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m.

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