GEORGETOWN, Texas – Southwestern shot out of the gate off the opening tip and never looked back as the men’s basketball team handed Austin College their first SCAC conference loss of the season, 78-63, on Sunday afternoon. The Pirates improve to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Junior Nick Caputo set the tone early for Southwestern, draining three three-pointers in two minutes to give SU an early 10-3 lead. The Pirates continued their strong play on both ends of the court and built a 13 point lead, 30-17, with four minutes remaining in the opening period and went into halftime up nine, 31-22.

Southwestern shot 55.6% from beyond the arc in the first half, but that stellar shooting slowed in the second frame. The ‘Roos were able to pull within seven, 38-31, on a three by Mewbourn just five minutes into the second half.

The Pirates answered and senior Collyn Kelley got things rolling once again with a three-pointer, steal and lay-up in a 15-second span to push the lead back to 13, 46-33, with 13 and a half to go.

After leading by as many as 16 points, Southwestern began to lose their stranglehold on the game and Austin College pulled within six, 59-53, with just under four minutes remaining. The Pirates were fouled down the stretch of the game as AC attempted to close the spread, but SU drained 19 of the 22 free throws to close out the contest.

There were six players in double figures for Southwestern led by Caputo’s 16 points. Junior Jonathan Brown followed with 13 while seniors Zach Bergstrom and A.C. Cox chipped in 12 each. Kola Alade was the only 'Roo in double digits with 15 points.

Overall, the Pirates shot 47.7% from the floor and 40% from long range in the win.

They return to the road to face SCAC opponents Millsaps on Friday night and Hendrix on Sunday afternoon.