Ross dominates, Schreiner moves to SCAC semifinals with win over Colorado, 57-55

SAN ANTONIO — Beau Cervantes made a hooking layup with four seconds left in the game to lift Schreiner University men’s basketball to a stunning 57-55 victory over Colorado College in the quarterfinals Friday night in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference at Trinity University.

But Cervantes’s best friend and roommate stole the show Friday night with a dominating performance. Kamden Ross scored a game-high 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and added three steals, four assists and a block to lead the Mountaineers.

The victory put the Mountaineers into Saturday’s semifinals against conference regular-season champion — St. Thomas, which is 23-2 and ranked No. 12 in the NCAA Division III rankings. The Mountaineers pushed the Lions in a 74-69 loss in Kerrville on Jan. 21.

“It starts with Kamden Ross, and he talked about having a different mentality today,” Schreiner University coach Marwan Elrakawaby said. “He said he was going to go out and get the ball.”

Ross did exactly that, especially in the second half.

“I feel like we just put it all out there on the court,” Ross said.

In a tight, physical and tactical game, Colorado College had the edge on paper with a starting lineup that featured two forwards 6-foot-6 or taller and the Tigers rotated in two 6-foot-8 players and another bulky 6-foot-6 forward to face the Mountaineers, but it didn’t matter.

For all of Colorado’s impressive size, they couldn’t stop the 6-foot-6 Ross, who dominated the paint, altering shots. And when the Mountaineers needed a boost, Bronson Evans came off the bench to add another dimension of athletic depth that bothered the Tigers.

The win may have been the defining moment for an up-and-down season for the Mountaineers, who had lost both games previously the Tigers. On Feb. 3, Schreiner received a 15-point thrashing in Colorado Springs — a game where Ross was held to six points.

However, in the tournament, Ross was unstoppable at times. And Schreiner’s backcourt of Cervantes, Dylan Mackey and Alex DeHoyos showed no fear in attacking the Colorado bigs. Mackey didn’t shoot well, but he finished with 10 points. DeHoyos scored 13 points and was clutch in the game’s final minutes with a 3-pointer and a driving layup.

Schreiner started the game slowly, a seeming replay of games past, and Colorado jumped out to a 6-2 start, but this was a back-and-forth fight. Both teams shot 38% from the field, and neither team could find 3-point range, but the Mountaineers did just enough.

But the big test comes at 5 p.m. on Saturday with St. Thomas.