Box Score Colorado College erased a 13-point deficit during the final nine minutes of regulation and went on to defeat Southwestern University, 80-78 in overtime, in a Sunday afternoon thriller at Reid Arena.

Eric Houska, who sent the game to overtime when he buried a 25-foot jumper from the top of the key with 4.8 seconds remaining, put the Tigers up 78-75 when he hit a floater in the lane with one minute to go.

The junior guard sank a pair of free throws with 20 seconds to go, which proved to be the difference after SU's Chris Molina hit a three-pointer with one tick remaining. Houska gave CC its first lead since early in the first half when he sank a pair of free throws 36 seconds into overtime.

"I'm proud of the guys because they earned a pair of hard-fought victories against the teams picked at the top of the SCAC's preseason poll," head coach Andy Partee said. "The energy we played with this weekend shows we have what it takes to be a contender."

Ryan Young, the hero from Friday night's victory over Texas Lutheran University, hit a three from the left corner giving Colorado College a 74-73 lead with 2:53 remaining in overtime. He
also had a steal with 12 seconds to play.

The Tigers improved to 4-9 overall and 3-0 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

"We're seeing the fruits of the strength of our non-conference schedule," Partee said.

It looked as though Colorado College's comeback would stall when Ryan Ogden's rainbow from the left corner put Southwestern up 68-63 with 45.6 to go, but a steal by Young led to a pair of free throws, and after the Pirates missed the front end of a one-and-one with 29 seconds to go, Houska hit his long game-saving three.

The Tigers took an 18-15 lead when Eric Houska hit a three-pointer just past the midway point of the first half, but Southwestern utilized a 10-0 run to take a seven-point advantage.

CC pulled to within four points when John Hatch scored with 4:27 to play in the first half, however the Pirates responded with a 13-5 spurt to build a 40-28 lead after 20 minutes.

Despite being called for two fouls during the first five minutes, Houska surpassed the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season and finished with a game-high 25.

Chris Martin recorded his fourth double-double of the season with career highs of 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Young finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five steals.

Ogden recorded team highs of 22 points and eight rebounds for Southwestern, which slipped to 6-7 overall and 1-1 in the SCAC.

Senior forward Zack Whitlock finished with 14 points.

Colorado College plays its first conference road games of the season next week when the Tigers visit Centenary College and Austin College on Friday and Sunday, respectively.