The men’s basketball team (13-15, 5-8 Ivy League) defeated Columbia (4-21, 1-12) by a score of 81-74 on Saturday. Jaylan Gainey ’22 scored 25 points, a career high, Saturday, complemented by 12 rebounds and eight blocks — a new program record in a single game.
Co-captain Tamenang Choh GS followed Gainey with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Kino Lilly Jr. ’25 had 13 points, and Dan Friday ’24 had 12 points. Perry Cowan ’23 chipped in nine points and five assists and saw more time on the court than in prior games with key players Kimo Ferrari ’24 and Paxson Wojcik ’23 sidelined due to injury.
The Bears started off the night honoring their five seniors who started the game: Choh, Gainey, co-captain David Mitchell ’22, Noah Meren ’22 and Tyler Brown ’22. Choh had the longest career as a Bear out of the five, spending five years with the team and playing four seasons due to the pandemic cancellation of the 2020-21 season. Over his Brown career, he has etched his name in the program record books with 1,309 career points, making him the 12th all-time leading scorer after his senior night performance.
“It didn’t really hit me yet, I’m just trying to stay present,” Choh said. “It did kind of hit me a little bit when the family started getting introduced on the court (before the game) and walked out there to me; that hit me hard. It’s crazy — I came here at 18 years old and grew up with this program. I’m so happy I came here and became the person I am today.”
The Bears and the Lions kept it close all game, but the Bears posted a strong second half to secure the win. The lead changed six times in the first half, but the Bears maintained their advantage for the entirety of the second half. Brown had a four-point lead with 17 minutes remaining in the first period but was unable to hold onto it. Columbia jumped to a six-point lead with two and a half minutes left. Lilly Jr. hit back-to-back threes to close the deficit, but the half ended at 39 apiece, despite Cowan sinking a full-court shot after the buzzer sounded.
The Bears and Lions kept close on the scoreboard throughout the game, but Bruno found a lead of 10 points 13:59 into the second half, marking their widest lead of the game. Gainey was producing on both ends of the court to open the second period, scoring with a dunk just 23 seconds into the frame and blocking a shot on the defensive end during the next possession. After the Bears obtained their 10-point lead from a Lilly three, Columbia weakened Brown’s advantage with 10 minutes left in the half, tying the game at 56.
Cowan hit a three coming out of a timeout on the next possession to push Brown into the lead, which they maintained for the rest of the game. With 2:35 remaining, the Bears reached a 76-68 lead when Lilly scored his fourth three of the night. The eight-point deficit proved too much for Columbia to overcome, and Brown took home the win after scoring five points at the free-throw line. The seniors walked away from the match with their last win in white jerseys on the Pizzitola Sports Center court.
“I’m gonna miss this place a lot,” Gainey said. “It’s been a great four years that I have been here, and it is really starting to hit me.”
Gainey secured a career high of 61 blocks this season following his eight against Columbia, adding to his 123 career blocks and distinguishing him with the third most career blocks in program history.
"I thought Jaylan was incredible offensively (and) defensively on the glass," said Head Coach Mike Martin ’04. "We had some great individual performances, and these guys are not only great players, but great people ... Our program is in a much better place because of them being with us.”
Bruno will play Yale Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m., marking the team’s final game of the regular season.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story contained passages with identical or nearly identical language to a news article on the official Brown Athletics website. These portions have since been revised. An Editors’ Note explaining this and other changes can be found here.
