The Colorado College men's basketball team fell to St. Thomas 85-67 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Opener on Saturday in Houston, Tex. 
 
CC was led by Senior Scott Ruegg who finished with with a season-high 21 points after tying his career-high of six three pointers. The Lafeyette, Calif. native went 6-7 from beyond the arc as the Tigers fall to 2-5. 
 
St. Thomas got out of the gate hot and shot 57.58 percent from the field and took 33 shots from the floor. The Tigers carried a 45.45 shooting percentage in the first half but put up only 22 shots. 
 
Junior Asher Nofziger, along with Ruegg, led the team with nine points in the first half. Nofziger finished with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. 
 
Forward Devin Philio dished out 18 points, a team-high six rebounds, two steals and two assists. 
 
CC trailed 43-27 at the break and attempted to make a comeback by shooting the ball signficantly well in the second half. The Tigers made 57.69 percent of their shots from the floor and managed to cut the lead down to nine with 5:34 remaining. 
 
Ruegg went 3-4 from long range in the second half and led the team with 12 points in the final 20 minutes. 
 
The Celts managed their lead and built their advantage back out to double digits with under five to play and held on to seal the eventual 85-67 victory. 
 
CC returns to Reid Arena to host Hardin-Simmons and Willamette next week on Thursday and Saturday in it's final non-conference games of the regular season. 
 
Tip off against the Cowboys is set for 6 pm MT on Dec. 19.