Colorado College pulled away early and never looked back, earning an 87–69 victory over Austin College on Friday evening at Reid Arena. It's the first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference win of the season for the Tigers who moved to 3-9.

CC shot 45.7 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range (9-of-22), while holding the Kangaroos to 38.3 percent shooting and just 20.0 percent from beyond the arc. CC finished with a 43–37 edge on the glass, scored 20 fast-break points, and received 28 points from its bench. Four Tigers reached double figures, led by senior Asher Nofziger with 18 points and nine rebounds. Junior Ty Hendler matched Nofziger's 18 points, senior Orion Samikoglu finished with 16 and freshman Ryan Kranz chipped in 14. 

Freshman Kyle Kihlberg controlled the paint with a career high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points.

The Tigers seized control early, responding to AC's opening three with a steady run of inside scoring and transition buckets. A 9–0 spurt midway through the first half, capped by a Kihlberg tip-in at the 5:17 mark, pushed the lead to double digits. The Tigers closed the half on a high note when Hendler buried a three-pointer with one second remaining, sending CC into the locker room with a 40–27 advantage.

The momentum carried into the second half as the Tigers opened on an 8–2 run to stretch the lead to 48–31. Kihlberg sparked another key sequence at the 16:36 mark, collecting consecutive offensive rebounds and finishing a putback to extend the margin to 17. Moments later, Hendler completed a three-point play to give CC its largest lead of the night at 57–33 with 15:32 to play.

Austin attempted to rally behind Jamien June, who scored a game-high 21 points, but CC consistently answered. A steal and fast-break dunk by Christian Drummond pushed the lead back to 24 at the 13:54 mark, and a Kranz three-pointer at 9:12 made it 69–52. The Tigers closed the game with energy on both ends, highlighted by a Terrion Benson fast-break dunk and a late three from Nick Brashear to seal the 18-point win.

CC finished with a 44–30 advantage in points in the paint, forced 21 Austin turnovers that led to 29 points, and committed just 14 turnovers of its own. The Tigers also held a 36:43 edge in time of possession with the lead, never allowing the Kangaroos closer than 13 points after halftime.

"Today was a much needed and good win," head coach Jeff Conarroe said.  "We it's been a tough stretch playing some really good teams. Austin College is one of the better transition offense teams in our conference, se we knew it would be a test for us as that's an area we have struggled in. I thought we had great ball security for a majority of the game and rebounded much better. I was also pleased with 16 Assists another emphasis for us offensively. Most importantly, I was pleased with our effort. We've been having lulls in games and only playing about 20 min or so of good basketball. Tonight we were much closer to a complete game. It was a nice step but we have a lot of work ahead to get where we want to be."

The Tigers will close out the weekend when they host the University of Dallas on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. MT.