Following a 0-2 start to Ivy League play, the men’s basketball team (7-10, 1-3 Ivy) collected their first league win in a 86-80 overtime win over Columbia (12-6, 1-3 Ivy) at a Saturday home game. Despite the victory, the team fell 89-67 to Cornell (8-9, 1-3 Ivy) just two days later.
At the opening of the game against Columbia, guard Jeremiah Jenkins ’28 immediately made his presence known as a playmaker, firing a cross-court pass to forward Landon Lewis ’26. The Lions answered with a wide-open dunk, but Brown stayed composed. Forward N'famara Dabo ’27 poked the ball away on defense, crossing the court for a layup with an assist from Jenkins.
Throughout the half, the match grew increasingly physical, and the teams continued to trade points. A strong block by Columbia sent its bench into a frenzy, but guard Isaiah Langham ’29 quieted them moments later with a layup.
Coming hot off the bench, forward Wyatt DeGraaf ’28 secured an offensive rebound and kicked it back out to Jenkins, who finished with a shifty layup. Crisp ball movement led to another layup by Langham, assisted by guard and forward David Rochester ’28.
Although Bruno held strong defensively, they found trouble boxing out underneath the board, allowing Columbia to grab 10 offensive rebounds in the first half. Brown’s Achilles heel unveiled itself late in the half, when a 7-0 run by the Lions led to a six-point lead for Columbia at halftime.
“At halftime, we were down, and we talked about playing for each other and bringing more intensity,” Dabo wrote in an email to The Herald. “It wasn’t about a specific tactical change as much as being the hungrier team, bringing our own energy and trusting that our teammates had our backs. That shift helped us change the momentum in the second half.”
The Bears emerged from the locker room with noticeably more energy. To open the second half, guard Adrian Uchidiuno ’27 stole the ball to feed Jenkins a wide-open layup. Soon after, Dabo swatted a Lion’s attempt, and Uchidiuno threw down a thumping dunk in transition.
Just like that, the Bears were back in business.
Lewis tied the game with a hook shot, and Columbia answered with another three-pointer. Jenkins thread a bounce pass to Langham for a layup. He continued to carve up Columbia’s defense, stealing and dishing the ball to guard Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson ’27, who found Langham again for a Bruno lead.
With just over six minutes remaining and down 66-62, the Bears were at an inflection point. A comeback spearheaded by Lewis and Langham brought Bruno to a two-point lead with just under two minutes left.
In the final minute, Uchidiuno stole the ball and gave Jenkins a quick layup. But Columbia’s forward Blair Thompson drilled a clutch three to tie the game with 40 seconds left. The score held and the match went to overtime.
After Lewis opened the scoring in overtime, a controversial call brought Columbia’s forward Mason Ritter to the line, where he hit one free throw before the back-and-forth play continued.
A series of free throws pushed the Bruno lead to five. The Lions cut the lead to three on a layup but sent Jenkins to the free-throw line, who split the pair to push Bruno’s lead to four. Uchidiuno was fouled moments later, and sealed the 86-80 win with two free throws.
“Looking ahead, to keep this momentum going, we know adversity will continue to come our way. “This is the Ivy League, every team is good, and every game has runs on both sides,” Dabo wrote in an email to The Herald. “What separates good teams from great teams is how you respond to those moments.”
Just two days later, Brown was unable to produce similar results against Cornell, falling 89-67.
The Big Red came out hot with their guard-heavy starting lineup, and jumped to an early 9-2 lead. Outscoring Cornell, Bruno tied the game at 23 with just over seven minutes remaining in the half.
But the surge was short-lived. Cornell closed the half on a 22-5 run, taking a 45-28 lead into the break.
“I would say Cornell ran a fast-paced offense,” Lewis wrote in an email to The Herald. “They’re a unique team that forces their opponent to adjust their defense.”
Brown showed life in the second half, with Jenkins scoring a whopping 12 points. But the push was not enough to keep pace with Cornell, who led by as many as 25 and never allowed Brown to get within 15. With this momentum, the Big Red cruised to a comfortable victory.
Brown now sits in last place in the Ivy standings, and will look to bounce back this Saturday at 12 p.m. when the team faces off against Princeton in New Jersey.
“To win against Princeton on the road we each have to own our mistakes as players individually and acknowledge what we need to do better in the latter half of the season,” wrote Lewis. “There’ll be some fierce competition in practice and more accountability between players, which will make us the most connected team going into the game.”
