Chris Smith scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Southwestern University to a 58-50 victory over Colorado College in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game on Friday at the Robertson Center.
 
In a game dominated by defense, the Pirates shot 80 percent from free-throw line, connecting on 20 of 25 attempts. At the other end of the court, CC was just 6-for-11.
 
After Scott Ruegg drained a three-pointer to pull the Tigers to within 47-46 with 3:14 to play, Southwestern scored the next seven points and sealed the victory by sinking five of six free throws during the final 33 seasons.
 
The Pirates held a 44-37 cushion after Brock Luechtefeld scored on a layup with 7:01 remaining, but Kevin Dittman scored four points during a 10-4 surge that got Colorado College back to within a point.
 
The Tigers took a 27-25 lead when Wil Nisbit hit a jumper with 1:13 remaining in the first half, however Southwestern tied the score on its next possession on a jumper by Josh Jones and then Jones put the Pirates ahead to stay when he made a pair of free throws with 18 seconds to go.
 
CC's largest lead occurred three minutes into the game when Ruegg hit the first of his three triples to put the Tigers ahead 9-4. The freshman guard led the team with 10 points, reaching double-digits for the fourth time in the last five games.
 
Colorado College outscored the Pirates 22-14 in the paint and the Tigers got 22 points off the bench, compared to 14 for Southwestern.
 
The Pirates finished with a 48-39 advantage on the glass.
    
    
Colorado College Standouts
Charlie Rounaghi led the Tigers with nine rebounds and scored six points.
Scott Cunningham finished with eight points, three rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
Southwestern Standouts
Kyle Poerschke finished with 15 points and blocked three shots.
Brock Luechtefeld produced 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
Notes
Colorado College slipped to 2-8 overall and 0-2 in the SCAC.
Southwestern improved to 4-6 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
 
Next for the Tigers
Colorado College wraps up its first two-game trip to Texas on Saturday against Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. The game tips off at noon MT.