Box Score Colorado College started slowly, but finished with a flurry as the Tigers remained perfect in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 73-65 victory over Schreiner University on Sunday afternoon at Reid Arena.
James Lonergan, the reigning SCAC Player of the Week, scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half to help the Tigers improve 8-6 overall and 4-0 in the conference. The senior forward also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out a career-best seven assists.
Justin Berardino scored 13 of his season-high 18 points in the first half when CC trailed by as many as nine points. The senior guard added six boards and three assists.
John Hatch recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and was instrumental during the pivotal 21-5 run that saw the Tigers turn a 52-46 deficit into a 10-point cushion.
Back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore guard
Eric Houska gave Colorado College its first lead since midway through the first half at 56-53.
Following a blocked shot and defensive rebound by Hatch, the sophomore forward hit a three-pointer from the right corner and then a jumper at the top of the lane to give the Tigers a 63-55 cushion with 2:22 to play.
A layup and two free throws by Lonergan gave the Tigers a 10-point margin with 62 seconds to play, but the Mountaineers used three-pointers from sophomore guard Quentin Lenard and senior guard Christian Pena to cut their deficit in half with 31 seconds remaining.
CC sank three of four free throws to close out the scoring.
After
Chris Martin gave Colorado College a 19-17 edge with 7:37 remaining in the first half, Schreiner used a 15-4 surge to take their largest lead at 32-23 with 3:26 to go before the break.
The Tigers scored seven of the last nine points to trim their deficit to 34-30 after 20 minutes.
Junior forward Wes Miller led the Mountaineers with 11 points, while Pena posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior forward Phillip Key added 10 points for Schreiner, which slipped to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in the SCAC.
Colorado College travels to Texas next week for its first conference road games at the University of Dallas and Austin College on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
