Last Friday afternoon at Columbia Prep’s Upper West Side North Gym, Columbia Prep overcame a late run from Fieldston to remain undefeated on the season, handing Fieldston its first loss of the season. Columbia Prep began the game cold, the Lions making none of their first nine three pointers and just two of their first 15. They remained unsteady from beyond the arc all-game, finishing at just 28.3% (13/46) but gathered 16 offensive rebounds, many of which leading to second chance points.
The Eagles shot a respectable 35% (7/20) from three, 43.5% from the field (27/62) and 90.9% (10/11) from the free throw line, but offensive fouls and turnovers killed many possessions. Columbia Prep finished with 18 steals. Forward Lincoln Steinkamp (Form V) was the main culprit, with seven of Fieldston’s 22 turnovers. Steinkamp added nine points on 2/8 shooting (1/4 from three and 4/5 from the line), five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Guard Carter Samuels added five turnovers, but had an efficient and productive day offensively with 15 points on 7/8 shooting (1/1 from three), three rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
The Eagles led by nine, 30-21, in the second quarter after starting the quarter on a 9-0 run, but a Columbia Prep timeout two minutes in changed the momentum; the Lions then scored 13 points in a row to go up 34-30. The teams traded off baskets and remained close together, the Lions leading 39-37 at halftime.
The Lions outscored the Eagles 25-15 in the third quarter, with 15 points coming from threes, but the Eagles regained momentum early on in the fourth quarter. Columbia Prep stopped scoring, missing its first five shots of the quarter and not making a shot until over four minutes in. Fieldston took advantage, cutting Columbia Prep’s lead to 65-64 after forward George Rauch (Form VI) dived on the court for a loose ball and called a timeout. Rauch scored seven points on 3/6 shooting (1/1 from the line) and added nine rebounds and two steals. From there, though, it was all Lions, as they hit two consecutive threes and outscored Fieldston 16-7 the rest of the game to win 81-71.
Columbia Prep took advantage of Fieldston’s 21 fouls, shooting 70.6% (12/17) from the free throw line. Forward Sam Bienvenu (Form VI) and guard Shaan Daly (Form V) both committed four fouls for the Eagles. Bienvenu had an extremely productive offensive day, though, scoring 22 points on 8/14 shooting (4/6 from three and 2/2 from the line). The senior also contributed four rebounds and a steal. Daly struggled, scoring nine points, inefficiently shooting 4/15 from the field and missing all five of his three-point attempts.
The Eagles fell to 4-2 on the season; their next game comes Monday afternoon at Portledge. The Lions improved to 5-0, atop their league, and they will look to remain undefeated Monday afternoon at the Browning School.
