Southwestern University defeated Colorado College in their final home game of the season, 74-59. The Pirates win and loss by Austin College to Trinity on Saturday night earns the Pirates third place in the division. They advance to the SCAC Conference tournament to be held in Conway, AR this weekend.
The Pirates and Tigers traded baskets for the first few minutes of the game and the teams had their third tie of the game with 9:32 left to go in the first half. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Nick Caputo gave the Pirates the lead, 17-14. Colorado College pulled the game even again at 23 with four and a half minutes remaining, but Southwestern responded going on a 9-2 run over the next two minutes and headed in to halftime up by five, 35-30. Sophomore forward Jonathan Brown was a spark off the bench for the Pirates, shooting perfect from the free-throw line (6-6) and the field (4-4) in the first half for 14 points.
Senior forward Andrew McDonald got the Pirates rolling in the second half, scoring the first six points and pushing SU's lead to 11, 41-30, just two minutes into the half. Colorado pulled within seven, 46-39, with just over 12 minutes left to play, but SU pushed their lead to 12 on a free throw by senior guard Micah Salinas. Salinas was all over the court, recording four steals, two rebounds, and scoring all 13 points of his point in the 10 minute stretch. Southwestern led by as many as 19 with 5:15 remaining and cruised to victory.
Brown finished as the leading scorer and rebounder with a double-double, 19 points and 10 rebounds. Salinas and McDonald finished with 13 and 12 points respectively. Caputo chipped in 11 in the win.
Southwestern improves to 16-9 overall and 7-8 in conference action. They finish in third place in the conference and head to Conway, AR for first round action in the SCAC Conference Tournament this weekend.
