Box Score Colorado College needed a victory over the University of Dallas on Friday night to clinch a spot in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

The Tigers got even more.

Not only did they hang on for a 67-63 victory over the Crusaders, they climbed a half-game ahead of Texas Lutheran atop the SCAC standings thanks to Trinity's 83-82 victory at TLU.

Senior forward James Lonergan and sophomore forward Andrew Maddock scored 15 points apiece as CC improved to 14-8 overall and 9-2 in conference play.

With six rebounds Lonergan became the 26th player in program history to record 400 or more, finishing the game with 403.

Maddock and sophomore forward John Hatch grabbed eight rebound apiece to help the Tigers post a 43-41 edge on the glass.

Colorado College led by as many as 11 points early in the second half, only to see Dallas close to within 58-56 on a free-throw by sophomore guard Emmanuel Calton with 1:32 to play.

The Tigers were clinging to a three-point cushion when senior guard Justin Berardino drove around UD's Tom Kaiser and scored on a scoop layup with a fraction more than 47 to play. After Colton turned the ball over on an illegal screen, Berardino sank a pair of free throws to give CC a 64-57 lead.

Junior guard Michael Sarrat's three-pointer trimmed CC's lead to five with four seconds to go, but Lonergan iced the game with two more free throws before junior guard Lorenzo Gonzalez banked in a three-pointer from half court as time expired.

Berardino finished with 10 points, five assists and three steals, while sophomore guard Eric Houska added 10 points.

Sarrat and junior forward Tom Kaiser led the Crusaders with 11 points apiece. Kaiser completed his double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds.

Colorado College struggled from the floor, connecting on only 21 of 53 attempts, but the Tigers made up for that performance at the charity stripe by sinking 16 of 21 shots, including 11 of 12 during the final five minutes

At the other end of the floor, Dallas made only six of 17 free throws.

The Crusaders grabbed an 18-12 lead when Sarrat hit a short jumper just after the midway point of the first half.

That's when CC ratcheted up the defense and held the Crusaders scoreless for more than six minutes.

At the same time, the Tigers connected on five of seven attempts from behind the arc and scored 22 consecutive points to open a 34-18 lead with 4:06 remaining before halftime.

UD slipped to 10-10 overall and 4-6 in the SCAC.

Colorado College plays its final home game of the season against Austin College on Sunday at 1 p.m.