by Eric Jonas scored a season-high 18 points and CooXooEii Black (Northern Arapaho) posted a double-double, but their efforts were not enough to get the Colorado College men’s basketball team a victory on Friday night.
Tristen Licon poured in 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to carry Sul Ross State University to a 74-67 win over CC in the 2019 Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic at Reid Arena.
Licon’s jumper with 4:10 remaining put Sul Ross State ahead for good and the visitors sank eight of 10 free throws during the final 3:26 to escape with the victory.
For the game, the Lobos made 19 of 26 free throw attempts, while the Tigers were just 4-for-10 from the line. He also pulled down five rebounds.
Jonas connected on seven of 14 shots from the floor and three of nine from long range.
Black scored 16 points and grabbed a season-best 13 rebounds to record his second double-double of the year and the 18th of his career.
Colorado College fired on all cylinders early in the first half, utilizing a 15-0 run to build a 22-4 lead just 9:29 into the game.
After JJ Woods hit a jumper to give the Tigers a 26-10 cushion, CC went scoreless for a span of 4:26 which allowed Sul Ross State to get back into the game on the strength of a 12-0 run.
The Lobos pulled to within 26-22 when Logan Dixon banked in a desperation triple from the left wing as the shot clock expired and cut their deficit to 30-28 on a three-pointer by Licon with 1:22 to play before the break.
However, the Tigers answered with a free throw from Jonas and a Jack McRoskey layup to take a five-point lead after 20 minutes.
Colorado College led by as many as nine points early in the second half and didn’t trail until Licon scored five in a row to give Sul Ross State a 48-46 lead with 12:14 remaining.
