The Colorado College men's basketball team dropped to 2-3 on Saturday, Nov. 25, after being downed 83-72 by Hardin Simmons University in San Antonio, Texas. 
 
CC's starting five struggled on the floor, but despite a strong effort from the bench, the Cowboys outlasted the Tigers thanks to a strong performance from Will Bartoszek, who led all scorers with 39 points. 

"We are disappointed with the loss today but we are also excited about the growth we are seeing and the trajectory our team seems to be on despite our record," head coach Jeff Conarroe said. "We have played good teams and Hardin Simmons might be the best we have played to date.  It was a war on the glass and in the paint, and to our guys' credit, they did not back down from the fight."
 
The Tigers trailed throughout most of the first half, as many as eight at one point, but fought back and eventually took over the lead with 4:13 left in the half when Scott Ruegg drained a three-pointer to make it 25-23. 
 
CC continued to fire away in the remaining four minutes and entered the locker room with a 37-33 lead. In the first half, Center Adrian Price had nine points in nine minutes and helped lead the momentum shift back into the Tigers' hands. 
 
In the second, the Cowboys went on a 7-0 run and retook a 40-39 lead with 17:24 to play. The Tigers wouldn't regain the lead for the remainder of the game. CC was limited to 46.43 percent shooting in the second half. The Cowboys built up their lead to as many as 13, but CC brought it back to as low as seven multiple times before HSU pulled away in the later minutes. 
 
The rebounding battle was split 37-37; Price led the way with six boards with his season-high 13 points. The Aurora, CO native also had an assist and a block. 
 
Edgar Romero had his second game scoring in double-digits. He scored 14 points after going 5-8 from the floor. He also swiped four boards and two steals. Scott Ruegg and Russell MacFarlane combined for 14 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. 
 
HSU outscored CC 50-35 in the second half and had three players score in double digits, including the 39 from Bartoszek, who went 10-12 from the charity stripe. 

"I was very pleased with over 40 points in the paint and 29 Free Throw Attempts," Conarroe said. "Turnovers continue to hurt us but we are getting better but mostly it's about learning how to make winning plays against good teams when it matters most.  They have some very good and very experienced players and they made a lot of big plays today, hats off to their team and their coaches, they were better today." 
 
CC had 46 points off the bench, a season high. The Tigers also had 44 points in the paint while shooting 4-14 from three-point range. 
 
Up next for CC is Concordia (TX), who will close their weekend in San Antonio. Tip-off time against the Tornadoes is set for 12:00 p.m. MT.