NEW YORK – Playing in the Big Apple for the first time in the program's 111-year history, the Wofford men's basketball team was dealt a loss by Columbia, 70-59, Tuesday night from Levien Gymnasium.
 
Wofford opened the game on an 11-3 run and forced Columbia (3-2) into five turnovers on its first six possessions. The Terriers remained on top 27-24 at the half, but the Lions shot 62.5 percent in the final 20 minutes on the way to victory.
 
Wofford's final lead came on a Derrick Brooks triple with 13:28 left. Columbia (4-2) used a 12-2 run over the next six minutes to go up by eight, forcing Wofford into three turnovers and limiting the Terriers to 1-for-7 from the field during that stretch. Columbia's lead grew to double figures for the first time with two minutes remaining.
 
"They opened the floor up a little in the second half and drove us. We didn't handle it very well," said Wofford head coach Mike Young. "Our help, our recovery and our ability to take care of one another wasn't what it needed to be."
 
Columbia, a team that averaged over 10 makes per game from 3-point range heading into the night, was limited to just two in the first half. They came alive in the second, connecting on five of their final 10 attempts. The 3-point success then opened up opportunities inside, where the Lions scored 23 of their 46 second-half points and outdueled Wofford 35-24 in the paint.
 
Seniors Alex Rosenberg, Grant Mullins and Maodo Lo all finished the night in double figures for the Lions. Rosenberg finished with a game-high 14, all of which came in the second half. The senior trio had just three points combined at the break, but scored a combined 33 in the final 20 minutes.
 
"We got beat by a good team that's going to win a lot games," added Young. "They start four seniors. I thought we did some really good things, but not enough to walk out of here with the win."
 
Columbia was picked to finish second in the Ivy League preseason poll by just three votes to Yale. The Lions garnered six first-place votes, which tied for the most with Princeton, picked third.
 
Terrier senior Justin Gordon matched Rosenberg with 14 points. He shot 7-for-13 and also added a team-high five assists. Spencer Collins was good for 13 points on a 5-of-12 shooting night.

However, it was Brooks' play off the bench Coach Young took particular notice of. The sophomore hit two of his three shot attempts in 15 minutes, including a big 3-pointer that gave Wofford its final lead. Said Young, "I thought Derrick Brooks was very good tonight. It was fun to see him have some success and play a good basketball game."
 
The Terriers return to action after Thanksgiving when they head down to Clinton, S.C., to play Presbyterian College. Tip is set for 7 p.m., Saturday, at the Templeton Center.

"I do think we learned a lot and got better," concluded Young. "We are a work in progress, as all of us are this time of year. We're trying to blend in a couple of new ones and have a couple of others fill in some new roles. We'll be alright."

Terrier Notes:
- Collins and Gordon each scored in double figures, extending their streak of such scoring games to four to begin the season. Collins' streak is actually eight games dating back to last year's Southern Conference and NCAA Tournaments.
- Gordon's five assists were a career high.
- Matthew Pegram's six points were the most of his young freshman season.
- Brooks' five points were his most against a Division I opponent. The sophomore holds a career-high of 13 points, which he scored last December 6 against Florida National of the USCAA.
- The game was the men's basketball program's first played in New York City. Wofford's first fielded a men's basketball team in 1905.
- The game was Wofford's second in program history against a team from the Ivy League. The Terriers are now 0-2, also falling to Cornell in 2010.
- Attendance was 840 at Levin Gym, located in the New York City borough of Manhattan.