The Colorado College men's basketball team opened up Southern Collegiate Athletic play against No. 17 St. Thomas and battled hard, but fell short in an OT thriller, 84-80.
Senior
Asher Nofziger powered CC with a season-high 27 points, going 10-for-14 from the floor while adding 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. The Tigers placed three players in double figures, including junior
Gavin Carter, who added 13 points and a team-high four assists. Freshman
Ryan Kranz collected a career high 15 points, knocking down five threes.
CC led 32–27 at halftime behind 47.8 percent shooting and a 16–9 edge in bench points. Nofziger scored eight early points, and Kranz buried three first-half threes to help the Tigers build a seven-point advantage.
The pace tightened in the second half as both teams traded extended runs. St. Thomas took a lead at 63–59 with just over four minutes remaining, but CC answered with a Samikoglu jumper and a pair of Kihlberg free throws to make it 65-62 with 2:57 remaining.
Free throws from Carter tied the game at 69–69 with eight seconds left, and the Tigers forced a miss on the final possession to send it to overtime.
In the extra period, CC stayed within a possession until the closing minute, but the Celts capitalized on a pair of turnovers and converted at the line to seal the win. St. Thomas scored 15 points in the overtime frame while shooting 44 percent.
The Tigers finished the game shooting 46 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle 48–36, including 24 offensive boards. The Tigers also outscored UST 36–38 in the paint and produced 28 bench points.
Garrett Rodgers led St. Thomas with 17 points and Corey Thompson with 18.
"I'm super proud of our team today," head coach Jeff Conarrie said. "They played their hearts out and gave themselves several chances to win the game against one of the best teams in the country. You gotta give St Thomas a lot of credit, they made plays to win the game and earned it in a heck of a college basketball game!"
CC moved to 2–6 overall and 0–1 in SCAC play. The Tigers return to action next Saturday, Dec. 20, when they host Nebraska Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
