COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Southwestern Pirates buried the Colorado College Tigers under a barrage of 3-pointers in the second half, putting the game far beyond reach over a 10-minute stretch to win 81-67.

Colorado College opened the game with a balanced scoring attack, moving the ball to assist on seven of their 11 made field goals in the first half, shooting 11-for-23 (47.8 percent), including an efficient 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) from behind the 3-point line. The Tigers were paced by guards Aaron Acosta and Jack McRoskey, who scored six points each before the break. 

Southwestern struggled to finish inside, shooting a higher percentage from deep (6-for-14, 42.9 percent) than overall (10-for-27, 37 percent). Josh Jones kept the offense afloat with three first-half 3-pointers for nine points, and Hester was a spark off the bench with seven first-half points, getting to the free-throw line for five attempts hitting four. 

In a half that went back-and-forth with multiple ties and lead changes, the Pirates pushed advantages at the free-throw line (7-for-11) and forcing turnovers (seven for 18 points) to take a 33-28 lead into the break.

Kyle Poerschke opened the second half with a 3-pointer, taking over a 10-minute stretch in which Southwestern outscored Colorado College 33-16 to blow the game open. The Pirates' leading scorer hit all three of his 3-pointers over the run, finishing with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-5 from deep to go with six rebounds in 21 minutes. 

Southwestern shot 11-for-17 from the 18:59 mark in the second half until Preston Hannah's 3-pointer with 8:21 remaining gave the Pirates their largest lead at 66-42. The Pirates were unstoppable from outside, hitting 8-for-9 from 3-point territory. 

Hester finished with 20 points to lead Southwestern, hitting 6-for-8 from the field, including 3-for-5 from deep to go with five made free throws, five rebounds, and three assists. Jones had 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from long range. Trenton Garrett had a solid game manning the middle with 10 rebounds, seven points, three steals, and two assists. 

Jack McRoskey was nearly unstoppable for Colorado College, scoring 28 points on 13 shots, hitting all three of his 3-pointers and all five of his free-throw attempts. Scott Cunningham and Acosta each had nine for Colorado College, who entered the weekend short-handed and fielded only a seven-man rotation. 

The Pirates finished 27-for-56 (48.2 percent) from the field, including 15-for-25 (60 percent) from the 3-point line. Southwestern outrebounded Colorado College 36-24, outsourcing the Tigers 20-3 in second-chance points. The Pirates forced 13 turnovers, scoring 18 points. 

With the win, the Pirates improve to 3-1 on the season, dropping Colorado College down to 0-4. Southwestern will return home to host Texas Lutheran University next weekend.