COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Kyle Poerschke led all scorers with 18 points, and the Southwestern Pirates men's basketball team put together a strong defensive effort to defeat the Colorado College Tigers 66-57.
Poerschke was relentless in getting to the rim, moving off-ball for four layups off assists and a few short jumpers. The Pirates' leading scorer shot 7-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line while contributing eight rebounds and a steal, block, and assist.
It was the team-wide work on the other end that separated the Pirates from Colorado College. Southwestern held its opponents to 21-for-64 (32.8 percent) shooting, including 5-for-22 from behind the 3-point line with 15 free-throw attempts.
Whether in zone or man-to-man, Southwestern played defense on a string. When Colorado College pulled on the defense, a swarm of defenders moved in unison, cutting off the initial threat and the next pass.
Calvin Williams was often the Southwestern defender on the other end of that string, pressuring on the ball, digging on drives, and recovering to shooters. The sophomore guard was dynamic, filling up the entire box score with eight points, seven rebounds, five blocks, four assists, and a steal.
With center Trenton Hassell in foul trouble, Williams provided a deterrent with weakside blocks. He also held his ground on the ball, closing any space his opponent created to swat or alter the shot. He made a few nifty passes on offense, notably directing the offense off-script on one play to thread the needle to Josh Jones on a backdoor cut.
Nine different Southwestern players recorded a steal, including one each by all five starters, to create 10 live-ball turnovers. Colorado College committed 21 turnovers overall, creating a 33-18 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Pirates did the bulk of the damage during a 19-4 second-half run after Sam Kinney brought the Tigers within three at 42-39 with 10:15 remaining. Southwestern recorded three steals over the next six minutes, hitting 8-for-9 from the field while holding Colorado College to 2-for-10 shooting with six turnovers over that stretch.
Eight Southwestern players recorded 19 or more minutes, wearing out the shot-handed Tigers' seven-man rotation and outscoring Colorado College's reserves 23-11, led by Jacob Hester's 12 points.
Jack McRosckey and Aaron Acosta scored 13 each for Colorado College, and Scott Cunningham contributed 10 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
With the win, the Pirates improve to 2-1 on the season, dropping the Tigers to 0-3. The two teams will play again tomorrow in Colorado.