CooXooEii Black poured in a season-best 27 points, but it wasn't enough to get Colorado College a victory in its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener on Saturday afternoon.
 
Kyle Howard knocked down a jumper in the lane with 1.8 seconds remaining as Southwestern University escaped Reid Arena with a 66-65 win.
 
Black connected on 12 of 16 shots from the floor and went 2-for-4 from the free-throw line to reach the 20-point mark for the second time this season. He also grabbed six rebounds and blocked a pair of shots.
 
The senior forward put CC up 65-62 on a free throw with 45 seconds to play. Brandon Alexander sank a pair of free throws to pull the Pirates to within one, and then the Tigers missed the front end of a one-and-one with 10 seconds remaining to set up Southwestern's final possession.
 
Colorado College was 8-for-14 from the free-throw line.
 
Luke Hicks scored 12 of his team-leading 15 points in the second half to help keep the Pirates within striking distance.  
 
Nabeel Elabdeia led the Tigers with seven rebounds.
 
Southwestern led 30-23 after Howard scored two of his 12 points with 7:13 remaining in the first half, but CC rallied to take a 37-36 lead when DeAnte' Dennis dialed long distance with 74 seconds to play.
 
Howard's layup with 20 seconds to go gave the Pirates a 38-37 lead after 20 minutes.
 
Colorado College Standouts
DeAnte' Dennis finished with 12 points.
Scott Cunningham scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds. 
The Tigers slipped to 2-5 overall.
 
Southwestern University Standouts
Brandon Alexander grabbed seven rebounds for the Pirates.
Luke Hicks led Southwestern with 15 points.
The Pirates improved to 5-3.
 
Next for the Tigers
Colorado College continues SCAC play when it plays host Texas Lutheran University on Thursday, Dec. 19, at 5:30 p.m.