Colorado College took over sole possession of first place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's Western Division with a 93-89 victory over Austin College on Saturday afternoon at CC's Reid Gymnasium.
All-America candidate Nick Rose poured in a career-high 34 points as the Tigers improved to 8-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play. The Kangaroos slipped to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the SCAC, one game behind Colorado College.
Rose made 11 of 17 shots from the floor and all 11 free throws, including four during the final 1:45 that helped seal the victory. He eclipsed the 30-point barrier for the second time this season while posting a career-best .647 field-goal percentage.
Colin Madden drained a pair of clutch three-point shots with less than four minutes to play, the second of which put the Tigers ahead for good at 88-86 with 1:32 remaining, and finished with a career-high nine points.
Austin pulled to within 91-89 on a three-pointer by Kyle Lintelman with 20 seconds to play, but Rose answered with a pair of free throws to close out the scoring.
Colorado College led 78-71 after Rose scored on a layup with 6:23 to go, but Josh Saunders scored five points during a 10-2 run that put the 'Roos ahead 80-81. Taylor Beatty drained a pair of free throws to give Austin its final lead at 86-85, only to see Madden respond seven seconds later with the last of his three 3-pointers.
The Tigers built a 45-40 lead when Brady Ohlsen scored with 1:02 remaining in the first half, but Scott Staley made back-to-back 3 pointers in a span of 11 seconds to put the Kangaroos ahead. After Kola Alade made a pair of free throws to give Austin a three-point lead, Jarrell Sweet went coast-to-coast to pull CC to within 48-47 with one second to play.
CC appeared to be in trouble when Sweet picked up his fourth foul 2:35 into the second half, but the Tigers eventually led by as many as seven points and never trailed by more than one the rest of the way.
Colorado College made up for a 35-22 deficit in rebounds by shooting a season-high .592 from the floor. The Tigers made 16 of 26 field-goal attempts during the first half for a .615 clip. CC tied its season-high with 11 three-point baskets and shot a season-best .579 from behind the arc.
Jeremiah Waters made 6 of 8 shots from the floor, including four of six from three-point range, to finish with a career-high 19 points.
Ohlsen added 16 points.
Beatty paced the Kangaroos with 20 points, while Lintelman added 14.
The Tigers play host to Johnson & Wales University on Sunday.
