By Kevin Peterson
The Colorado College Men’s Basketball team fought hard in a disappointing loss at Southwestern University on Friday night, ending its three-game winning streak coming into the weekend. The result doomed the team’s chances of making the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, as the Tigers lost 74-70. Yet, despite the disappointing night in Georgetown, the Tigers were relentless throughout the game.
CooXooEii Black ’20 shot for an impressive 31-point game against the Pirates, a season-high for the senior forward. Black led the Tigers with a field goal percentage of 0.706 and seven rebounds.
The Tigers were up by two at the half, leading 37-35, but Southwestern tied the game early in the second half and started pulling away. Colorado College was able to recover somewhat but ultimately saw the game slip out of their hands with a final score of 74-70.
The Tigers looked to close their season out against Texas Lutheran University on Saturday, but the Bulldogs, capping off a conference record of 11-7, triumphed over the Tigers with a 79-69 win. Despite the score, CC battled to the end in their season finale, as the Bulldogs were only able to pull away late in the second half of the game.
“I thought we played with a lot of energy and intensity in both games. We forced the tempo and gained control in the first half of each game,” said Head Coach Andy Partee. “We can certainly improve our defense and rebounding late in games. We’re very good at both. It’s more a matter of sustaining the energy, intensity and focus for 40 minutes.”
Charlie Rounaghi ’22 had eight assists while Aaron Acosta ’22 attempted to lead the Tigers from outside the arc with four three-pointers. Acosta led the team with 21 points.
“We struggled with rebounding overall and at times struggled to put the ball in the hoop, but sometimes it’s just one of those days where the ball just isn’t falling,” said Acosta.
The Tigers led 36-33 at half, but TLU took control with a scoring run towards the end of the game and CC ended the weekend with another loss.
“We stuck together the entire time,” Black said. “That’s one of the best things about this team. Whatever happens we still have each other’s backs and we hold each other up. We played hard for each other and encouraged each other through the good moments and the bad moments.”
Colorado College looks forward to next season with a strong group of returners. Coach Partee, reflecting on the season, pointed out that though the Tigers were a force to be reckoned with in every game, their second half performances were poor at times.
“We led at half-time in 14 of 24 games,” Partee said. “Going forward, we need to learn what it takes to play a complete game, consistent with energy, intensity, and a sense of urgency and toughness in the latter stages of games. There’s no doubt that we have the tools and the talent. There’s a lot that we can learn from this season.”