The Colorado College men's basketball team opened the season with a convincing 80-61 win over Pacific University on Friday inside Reid Arena. The Tigers relied on its dominance on the boards and an explosive second-half performance to win its third season opener in the last four years. 
 
"I'm really excited about our effort tonight," head coach Jeff Conarroe said. "We were very good in several parts of the game, especially on the glass and getting to the free-throw line. We had a superb defensive stretch in the second half, which fueled our big run. It was a gutsy effort after giving up the first-half lead."
 
CC closed the game on a 23-5 run over the final nine minutes.
 
Three Tigers scored in double digits, including senior Scott Ruegg, who led the way with 16 points after shooting 3-6 from long range. He finished the game with four rebounds, an assist and a steal. 
 
Asher Nofziger followed with 15 points, six boards, three assists and three blocks. Sophomore Ty Hendler finished with 13 points and five rebounds. 
 
Devin Philio was dominant on the boards, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds. He also scored eight points and blocked one shot. 
 
CC relied on a dominant second half to push for the eventual win; after leading 41-37 at the halftime break, the Tigers outscored the Boxers 39-24 and held their opponents to 27.27 percent shooting in the second half. 
 
The Boxers made only one three-pointer after the break and shot 7.69 percent from long range. 
 
On the boards, CC practically lived on the glass, outrebounding Pacific 53-25. 
 
The ballgame was kept within a possession for the first few minutes of the second half, and the Boxers took the lead with 18 minutes to play. They held the lead and built it up as big as seven with 11 minutes in the game. 
 
Some excellent paint work by Kevin Dittman and Nofiger cut down the advantage, and the Tigers regained the lead at 9:39 when Ty Hendler drilled a three-pointer to make it 57-56. CC never trailed for the remainder of the game. Pacific scored only five more points in the remaining nine minutes, while CC finished on a 23-5 run. 
 
We have to improve our turnovers, but overall, for the season's first game," Conarroe said. "I thought we played pretty well against a very good Pacific team. Short turnaround tonight, gotta get ready for a big one at three o'clock tomorrow."
 
CC will host Bethany Lutheran on Saturday at 3 pm at Reid Arena to close out the weekend.