When the Colorado College men's basketball team defeated No. 21 Whitman College in the fifth game of the season, the Tigers demonstrated they had what it takes to compete with the best teams in the country and contend for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.
 
Despite playing without sophomore sharpshooter Aaron Acosta, who was injured during the second game of the season at Lewis & Clark College, the Tigers made the clutch plays in the final minute to defeat the Blues in the marquee matchup of their non-conference schedule. 
 
Senior guard Eric Jonas scored six of his career-high 26 points during the final 30 seconds and his steal with one second to play gave CC its first victory over a top-25 opponent since the Tigers recorded two wins over Whitworth University in a span of eight days early in the 2013-14 season.
 
Instead of being the season's defining moment, one which instilled confidence in the young squad and catapulted the Tigers toward the top of the SCAC standings, the victory over Whitman began a trend in which games were decided during the final minute, and all too often, on the final possession.
 
Almost two weeks later, that tendency continued in back-to-back games against Southwestern University and Texas Lutheran University. The Pirates escaped Reid Arena with a 66-65 victory after hitting a shot as time expired, and less than 24 hours later the Bulldogs took a 64-63 lead with 23 seconds remaining and CC was unable to score on its final possession.
 
Despite being the first conference games of the season, it was those two losses that effectively denied the Tigers a berth in the SCAC tournament since Southwestern went on to claim the final spot in the six-team bracket. 
 
Unfortunately for CC, there was even more heartbreak on the horizon. The second half of the season began with an overtime loss at tournament champion Centenary College, an 85-82 setback at Trinity University that was the result of a missed connection on a perfectly designed inbounds play with four seconds remaining in the game, and finally a gut-wrenching 79-77 loss at Austin College on a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer.
 
With its postseason lives hanging in the balance, the Tigers played their best ball of the season and put together a three-game winning streak that consisted of an 88-56 thrashing of Johnson & Wales University, an 87-69 victory over Schreiner and a 77-52 demolition of Trinity.
 
However, a 74-70 loss at Southwestern to open the final weekend of conference play eliminated CC from contention for a spot in the tournament.
 
Colorado College may have finished the season with an 8-16 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the SCAC, but victories over four of the six teams that qualified for the conference tournament demonstrated how competitive the Tigers were against the best teams in the league.
 
In fact, six of CC's conference losses were by a combined 14 points while one other game went to overtime. Had only three of those results gone in favor of the Tigers, they would have been the fourth seed in the SCAC championship. Had Colorado College won all six, it would have been the second seed.
 
Despite missing out on its primary team objective, there were many outstanding individual performances that made the season memorable.
 
The highlight of the 2019-20 campaign was the season-long performance senior forward CooXooEii Black, who cemented his place among the top players in Colorado College and SCAC history.
 
Black became the fifth player in program history and just the ninth in the SCAC to record 1,600 or more career points. He also completed his career as only the fourth player in conference history to record 1,600 or more career points and 700 or more career rebounds.
 
The first-team all-conference selection led the SCAC in scoring, averaging 21.3 points per game and was fourth in rebounding at 8.8 per contest. He finished the season with a career-high 512 points and became the 16th player in program history to score 500 or more in a single season.
 
Black, who was named second-team all-South District selection by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and a second-team all-South Region pick by D3hoops.com, finished his career ranked No. 3 in school history with 724 career rebounds, No. 5 with 1,625 points, tied for fifth with 101 games played, and No. 6 with 91 blocked shots and No. 23 with 151 assists.
 
Acosta, a third-team all-SCAC selection, ranked second on the team and fourth in the conference averaging 17.9 points per game. He also poured in 60 three-point baskets, which ranks 15th on the program's single-season list, and finished second in the league averaging 3.2 three-pointers per game.
 
Acosta scored double-figure points on 17 occasions, including a career-high 31 against the University of Dallas at Reid Arena. He tied his career high by sinking six three-pointers at Trinity University and against Schreiner University at home. Acosta finished the season ranked 19th in program history with 108 three-point baskets and 53rd with 603 points.
 
In his first season on the court, sophomore Jack McRoskey averaged 7.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. He led the team with 31 steals and was second with 63 assists, and was 13th in the SCAC averaging 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
 
McRoskey scored double-figure points on seven occasions, including three of the last four games, with a season high of 13 in the 87-69 victory over. He dished out a season-high six assists against regular-season champion University of St. Thomas at Reid Arena, and recorded five steals against the Celts in Houston.
 
Charlie Rounaghi came off the bench to average 2.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He led conference with a 2.7 assist-to-turnover ratio and was third averaging 4.6 assists per game. His team-leading 111 assists ranks 14th on the program's single-season list. Rounaghi scored a season-high eight points in the 72-67 victory over Centenary.
 
Finally, Deante' Dennis led the first-year Tigers averaging 5.2 points per game and could provide even more offensive punch in the future. He poured in a season-high 17 points during the victory over Whitman, one of four games in which he reached double figures.
 
With three starters and 12 veterans returning next season, Colorado College appears to have the experience necessary to reverse this year's direction and return to a place near the top of the conference standings during the 2020-21 season.