Tigers fall short in tourney opener

Southwestern University broke open a close game midway through the second half for a 60-56 victory Friday over Colorado College in the Radisson Thanksgiving Invitational basketball tournament.

The teams were tied 28-all at the half after trading missed opportunities and small leaders.

"There were two young teams out there tonight," Tigers coach Mike McCubbin said. "They might have had a few more veteran guys out there than we had.

"There was not a lot of great execution out there. We had a lot of unforced errors. We're just a young basketball team trying to figure out what we've got to do to play college basketball."

CC was tied 35-all with 12:41 left at 12:41 of the second half before the Pirates pulled away, leading by as much as 12 points down the stretch. Mike Esquivel, who finished with 12 points, led Southwestern's charge.

"I lost a contact in the first half," Esquivel said. "Then I had to go look for a replacement. Luckily, the trainer had a spare that I borrowed."

Matt Bahl scored 10 points for the Tigers, who rallied in the final 6 minutes. Freshman David Ward made a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left that narrowed their deficit to two points.

CC (0-3) plays Mary Hardin-Baylor (2-1) in the 6 p.m. consolation game. Southwestern (2-1) plays Gustavus Adolphus (2-0), a 100-64 winner over Mary Hardin-Baylor, in the 8 p.m. final.

In the women's bracket, CC (1-2) defeated Loyola of New Orleans (0-5) 69-55, advancing to the 3 p.m. final against Willamette.

CC got 19 points from its bench to three for Loyola.

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