Box Score There's something about playing Whitworth University that brings out the best in Chris Lesnansky.
 
Lesnansky poured in 25 points to lead Colorado College to an 81-65 victory over the 16th-ranked Pirates on Sunday afternoon at Reid Arena.
 
"We can play with top-25 and perennial tournament teams," Lesnansky said. "We can be as good as we want to be. We need to focus on the little things and demand excellence on a day-to-day basis."
 
The junior forward made eight of 12 shots from the floor and went 9-for-10 from the free throw line to help the Tigers record their second victory over Whitworth in a span of nine days. During the 65-60 victory in Spokane, Wash., on Nov. 23, Lesnansky scored 21 points and pulled down six rebounds.
 
"It was a fun game," Lesnansky said. "Everyone was hitting shots and that gave me a lot of open looks. I needed to bounce back from my shooting performance on Friday night.
 
"We'll enjoy this tonight and then get back to work for Wednesday's game against Johnson & Wales."
 
Lesnansky, who did his damage in just 20 minutes of playing time, earned a spot on the 2013 ACM Classic's all-tournament team.
 
The Tigers got a big assist from Ryan Milne, who scored 15 points and dished out six assists with no turnovers. The senior point guard was named the classic's MVP after averaging 20 points and five turnovers during CC's two victories.
 
After freshman forward Christian Jurlina connected from long distance to give the Pirates a 12-10 lead, sophomore guard Justin Berardino scored eight of his nine points to ignite a 16-1 run that gave Colorado College a 26-13 advantage midway through the first half.
 
Whitworth cut its deficit to 33-26 on a pair of free throws by senior guard Dustin McConnell with 3:15 to play before the break, but the Tigers answered with seven of the next nine points to build a 40-28 margin after 20 minutes.
 
A Milne layup made the score 47-35 a little more than three minutes into the second half, but the Pirates got their chance to climb back into contention after Lesnansky and Milne both picked up their third and fourth fouls in a span of nearly five minutes. 
 
With Lesnansky on the bench, Whitworth pulled to within six points on junior forward Adam Wilks' layup with 13:13 remaining. 
 
The Tigers responded with a basket by sophomore guard Juwan Rohan and 3-pointers by Milne and senior guard Jake Tramutolo to re-establish their 12-point advantage.
 
Senior guard Colton McCargar, who also earned a spot on the all-tournament team, cut CC's lead to 56-48 with two of his team-high 17 points, but that was as close as the Pirates would get. 
 
Colorado College scored the next six points, and after Whitworth sophomore forward Brandon Loiler answered with four straight to trim the gap to 62-52, the Tigers took control with a 10-2 run that extended their lead to 72-54 with 5:27 to play.
 
Senior forward Taylor Farnsworth, who grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and added three points for the 3-2 Pirates, was an all-classic selection. Carleton College's Taylor Hanson rounded out the five-player team. 
 
"We've had big wins before, but we didn't follow it up," said head coach Andy Partee, whose team improved to 4-0. "Defeating Whitworth twice proves that we can compete at the national level.
 
"We're proud of what we've accomplished so far, but we're not satisfied. It's back to work on Tuesday."
 
CC, which improved to 4-0, plays host to Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.