Colorado College men’s basketball (2-3) enjoyed a dominant win over Johnson and Wales University on Tuesday. The Tigers stuffed the Wildcats by a final score of 81-58. “During the game, I felt like our offense clicked, and we did a much better job of plugging the gaps on defense than in our first few games” said senior guard/forward Luke Winfield, who is beginning to look like Steph Curry after sinking five shots from behind the arc. This early season big margin win is a good omen for the Tigers.
The men’s basketball team went to Denver looking to turn their season around after a 1-3 start. The Tigers were confident on the court and held a firm lead throughout the game. They dominated the first half and jumped to 9-2 lead in the first three minutes. By 6:26, they extended their lead to 14 with a 26-12 lead. The ‘Cats stagnant defense could not stop the Tigers, and the first half ended with 37-20 lead for Colorado College. The team brought the same energy for the second half.
Senior guard Justin Berardino landed a trey with 3:32 left to play, and freshman guard Reed Nakakihara clinched the Tigers’ 23-point victory with a pair of three throws in the last minute of the match. “I was especially happy with the energy brought by our freshmen, Yiannis Margetis and Conner Walden. Their energy served as a catalyst for the strong start,” Berardino said. “I also attribute our success to a delicious pregame meal hosted by the Jonas family. The chicken parm gave us the energy we needed to get the win.”
Sophomore guard Eric Houska also turned in an impressive performance. Houska finished with a career-high 16 points. Berardino was the Tiger’s second leading scorer with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The Tigers shot 45-percent from the floor and 57-percent from range.
The men’s basketball team has ambitious goals for the 2015-2016 season. Winfield said, “This season our primary goal is to win the conference championship and earn an NCAA tourney bid, but right now we’re just focusing one game at a time. If we continue to take care of business, especially on the road, that’s a goal we definitely should achieve.”
With a tough schedule on the horizon, the road to a conference championship will not be easy. “We have a very difficult schedule for the rest of the year. We will have to bring our A game each time out in order to emerge victorious,” Berardino said. “Also, James Lonergan’s celebrations are a weak point that we will continue to work on throughout the year.”
The Tigers will return to action this weekend with two games in Newberg, Oregon against Whitworth University on Saturday and George Fox University on Sunday.