Above: CC Tigers take on Johnson and Wales University in home game on Jan. 19.
Photos by Arden Feldman and Tyler Sym
Last weekend, Colorado College men’s basketball showed no sign of missing a beat in its first conference road games of the season. The team dominated in Texas earning a sweep.
“We’re seeing some momentum in our play,” said Head Coach Andy Partee. “We’re continuing the success even on the road which was impressive to see. Last year, we only won two total games on the road. So, not only are we heading in the right direction with the last six games, but we are also demonstrating that while playing on the road is difficult for anyone, we’re at a point where we can meet that challenge and be successful.”
On Jan. 15, the team cruised to a 75-62 victory over the University of Dallas Crusaders. The Tigers improved to 5-0 in the SCAC and 9-6 overall, while Dallas dropped to 1-3 in the SCAC and 6-7 overall.
Colorado College snapped Dallas’ 10-game home winning streak with phenomenal play and scorching three-point shooting.
Sophomore guard Eric Houska led the charge totaling 17 points on 12 shots, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Over the previous three games, Houska has shot 8-of-34 a staggering 64.4 percent from deep.
“We got back to playing the type of basketball we love and had a lot of fun this weekend,” said Houska. “These two wins were huge for us mentally and for the standings.”
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Senior guard Justin Berardino added 16 points to the scoreboard with four rebounds and three assists, while sophomore forward Andrew Maddock finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
Senior forward James Lonergan posted 12 rebounds, reaching double digits for the second time this season, to help Colorado College post a 40-31 advantage on the glass.
“It feels great right now being on top,” said senior swingman Luke Winfield. “But it’s too early in conference for it to mean anything. We just have to keep taking care of business, especially on the road.”
On Jan. 16, Colorado College extended their conference win streak to six games with a 61-58 win over Austin College. Sophomore John Hatch and Lonergan both scored 14 points to help the Tigers improve to 6-0 in the SCAC and 10-6 overall while Austin College dropped to 0-5 in the SCAC and 10-5 overall. Hatch had a career-high five blocked shots and Lonergan added eight boards.
“It was a different type of win,” said Lonergan. “But I was proud of how we survived. We gritted out a win at their place. They had the benefit of some calls. We didn’t complain about it; we just stuck to what we were doing and we had to survive. Although it’s a different kind of win, I mean we’ve had some wins where we’re for sure the better team, it was fun to go out there and grit out a win as a team and steal one at their place.”
The Tigers had a strong start, holding a 32-16 lead with 4:15 to go in the first half. But the ‘Roos answered and shrunk that lead to seven before the break.
Colorado College’s lead shrank to one point with a score of 59-58 with 17 seconds left in the game. Two free throws from freshman guard Reed Nakakihara gave the Tigers a three-point cushion.
“I wasn’t too nervous since we practice pressure situations at the line during practice. It made it simple to shoot in a game,” said Nakakihara about his last-minute free throws.
A last second three from Austin College that could have tied the game missed the net as time expired.
“We’ve played quite a bit of basketball since Christmas, and I think we can attribute the Austin game to us being a little fatigued,” said Partee. “You’re going to see that in the form of shooting percentages and when I went back and looked at the statistics, we shot 50 percent from the three-point line against Dallas on Friday and then the second half against Austin we shot 24 percent total from the field.”
Currently Colorado College has a half-game lead over Texas Lutheran University and is ranked number one in the SCAC.
“It’s a testament to our guys,” said Partee. “They’ve shown some resilience through the six straight wins; they were down at some points through a couple of those games and battled back. I’m pretty pleased at where we are right now, but it’s still a marathon.”
That first place title is up for grabs on Friday when the Tigers travels to Texas this weekend to play their conference rival, Texas Lutheran as well as SCAC member Southwestern University.
“We don’t care about rankings, they mean nothing. The only thing that matters is winning the next game,” said Hatch. “Our hopes are to work hard every day to put ourselves in a position to win games at the conference tournament in Louisiana.”
The team has extended their winning streak to seven with a home win against Johnson and Wales University on Tuesday, Dec. 19.