Senior Scott Ruegg dished 24 points behind his six three-pointers to lead the Colorado College men's basketball team past Concordia (TX) 89-64 in the SCAC Tournament quarterfinals. 

Ruegg's six long-range conversions tied his season high as the Lafayette native finished with two rebounds, two assists, a block, and two steals. 

CC was down 7-0 with 18:17 remaining but scored its first basket when Orion Samikoglu drilled the first of 13 three-pointers. It's the most threes in a game for the Tigers since Feb. 14, 2020, when CC made 14 against Schriener and tied the third most in SCAC Tournament history.

The Tigers had 23 assists, the second most ever in a SCAC Tournament game. It's the fourth time they had 20 or more assists in a game this season. 

"I thought our guys played fantastic basketball today," head coach Jeff Conarroe said. "I'm so proud of their effort defensively and on the glass and that really helped us offensively. We got stops, so it was more difficult for Concordia to get into their press.

Samikoglu, Ty Hendler and Gavin Carter finished with two threes as CC shot 54.2 percent from deep. 

Ruegg hit five triples in the first half and led the Tigers with 17 points heading into the break. CC learned from Ruegg's scoring efforts and built the lead-up to as many as 22 with 3:36 remaining. A three by the senior made it 39-17 to cap a 24-5 run over 12 minutes on the floor. 

The Tornadoes reduced the lead to 15 over the final few minutes of the half, but the Tigers went into the break with a 43-28 advantage. 

In the second half, CC improved its shooting, hitting 55.58 percent of its shots from the floor while holding Concordia to 40 percent from the field. Carter led the Tigers with eight points in the half, and nine Tigers scored, five scoring five or more points. 

The Tornadoes managed to battle back within nine points with 15:50 remaining in the game, but a three-pointer and back-to-back layups by Nofziger and Samikoglu ballooned the lead back out to 14 points. 

Leading 62-44 with 12:42 remaining, Will Hopkins's free throw rattled off the rim, but Kevin Dittman grabbed the offensive board and put it back in for the bucket, which appeared to put the game away. 

CC outrebounded CTX 47-33, including 16 offensive boards. Dittman and Nofziger each led the team with eight boards. 

Philio finished with 12 points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal. 

CC held CTX to 33.8 percent from the field while shooting 52.2 percent from its offensive end. 

"We knew if we took care of the ball today and shared the ball," Conarroe said. "We'd have a great chance to win the game. We certainly did that; we were so selfish. It was one of the best games I've ever coached regarding the assist-to-turnover ratio. But it doesn't surprise me. We have a veteran group that wants to win, and they're really connected. I'm excited to see what we do this weekend."

The Tigers will take on Trinity in the semifinals on Saturday, March 1, at 6 pm MT