NEW YORK (AP)—Ben Nwachukwu scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half as Columbia held off a furious rally to defeat Troy 73-71 in the championship game of the Tyler Ugolyn-Columbia Classic on Saturday night.
Brett Loscalzo hit two free throws with 21.8 left to give the Lions (2-0) a 73-69 lead before Cedric Jackson’s layup brought the Trojans within two.
After Troy forced a 10-second violation on Columbia, Bobby Dixon had a chance to tie it, but his shot bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Jacob Hazouri had 24 of his 29 points in the second half for the Trojans, who rallied from a 10-point deficit.
Columbia freshman K.J. Matsui, the first Japanese native to play for an NCAA Division I team, had 14 points. He scored his first points by hitting a 3-pointer from the left corner at 17:09 of the opening half.
Dalen Cuff led the Lions with 18 points and John Baumann had 15.
Dixon finished with 12 for the Trojans and Jackson had 11.
Quinnipiac edged New Hampshire 64-62 on Adam Gonzalez’s layup in the final second in the consolation game.
