Box Score Colorado College climbed back into the thick of the hunt for a berth in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference postseason tournament with a hard-fought 68-56 victory over Schreiner University on Friday night at Reid Arena.

The Tigers ascended into fifth place with a 4-5 record in conference play, just a half game behind Schreiner. CC trails third-place Southwestern University by a game and a half, but the Pirates still have to visit Colorado Springs on Feb. 13.     

Despite playing the final 13 minutes with four fouls, Chris Lesnansky scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds.

The senior forward became the fifth player in program history to record 600 or more rebounds and the eighth to record at least 1,400 points.

Junior guard Justin Berardino made three of four three-point shots en route to a 14-point night.

The Mountaineers pulled to within six points when senior forward Hollis Robinson scored with 13:04 on the clock, but that proved to be as close as they would get.

Buckets by junior swingman Luke Winfield and senior forward Russell Clark gave Colorado College a 58-48 lead, and after Schreiner got to within nine points with 6:44 to go, the Tigers answered with six in a row.

James Lonergan, who returned to the lineup after missing 12 games, ignited the critical run with three rebounds and a pair of steals during a span of 3:13 to help CC expand its lead to 15 points. The junior forward also recorded three points and three rebounds.

Clark and freshman forward John Hatch finished with nine points apiece for Colorado College.

Lesnansky drained a pair of three-pointers during a 16-7 run that gave the Tigers a 27-16 lead with a little less than eight minutes remaining in the first half.

The Mountaineers cut their deficit to three points when Robinson hit a trey with 4:55 remaining, but Berardino answered with a pair of three-pointers as CC used an 11-5 surge to build a 41-32 advantage after 20 minutes.  

Sophomore forward Wes Miller led the Mountaineers with 14 points, while sophomore guard Jared Thompson added 11.

Senior guard Stevan Guerrero grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

CC improved to 10-10 overall and 4-5 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Tigers ran their season record at Reid Arena to 7-1 and avenged last week's 70-66 setback against Schreiner in Kerrville, Texas.

The Mountaineers dropped to 11-8 overall and 4-4 in league play.

Colorado College plays host to Trinity University on Saturday night.