Lo leads Columbia past NJIT, 80-65, into CIT title game

NEW YORK (AP) Moado Lo scored a season-high 29, on 11-of-18 shooting, with six assists, three steals and two blocked shots Sunday to help Columbia beat NJIT 80-65 in the semifinals of the College Insider.com Tournament.

Alex Rosenberg added 16 points, Grant Mullins had 12 and Luke Petrasek scored 11 apiece for Columbia. Lukas Meisner hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds.

A 3-pointer by Chris Jenkins pulled NJIT (20-15) within four with 14:32 to play, but Lo answered with a 3 of his own, sparking an 11-4 spurt that pushed Columbia's lead to 53-42 with 11 minutes left. The Highlanders trailed by double figures the rest of the way.

NJIT made six of its first 13 field-goal attempts, including three 3-pointers, and led 15-10 with 8:24 remaining in the first half. The Highlanders, however, made just two of their final 13 first-half shots as the Lions (23-10) built a 33-22 at the break.

Damon Lynn led NJIT with 18 points, knocking down 6-of-9 3-pointers. Ky Howard scored 14 with six assists and Tim Coleman added 11 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds.

The Lions made 16 of 20 free throws while NJIT hit 5 of 8 foul shots.

Columbia broke the school's single-season record with 14 non-conference wins and tied the program's record for most wins in a season (23) set by the 1950-51 team.

Columbia will face UC Irvine (28-9) in the championship game Tuesday.