Stunned silence enveloped Whalen Gymnasium.
Chuck Cole drained a 3-pointer with 10.4 seconds left in overtime to give the Adams State a 96-95 lead over Fort Lewis College.
Then the Grizzlies stole the inbounds pass and made 1-of-2 free throws to seal a 97-95 overtime victory Saturday in Durango.
“We brought it in; we had our press-breaker (set up),” FLC head coach Bob Hofman said. “They just made a good deflection, made the play.”
The Skyhawks had a chance to win or send the game to a second overtime, but Cade Kloster’s 3-pointer didn’t fall.
Nick Tomsick, who led the Skyhawks with 24 points, drove to the free-throw line when the Grizzlies’ defense collapsed on him.
“They came up and pressed, so we couldn’t get into the play we wanted to run,” Tomsick said. “Just trying to create something.”
FLC (12-6, 9-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) led by six with 1 minute, 26 seconds left in overtime after Wes McKenzie hit his second 3-pointer of overtime.
McKenzie scored eight of his 10 points in overtime on two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws.
“I don’t like to force anything, usually,” he said. “I got open shots my teammates were creating and just took advantage.”
Adams State (12-6, 8-6 RMAC) hit 2-of-3 3-pointers and made 5-of-8 shots from the field in the extra period.
The Skyhawks could have ended the game in regulation. They had the ball with 24.3 seconds left and the score tied at 81.
The Grizzlies’ Jaree Crawford stole the ball with just more than four seconds left, and Lee Lark missed a jump shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
FLC led by as many as 18 in the second half but was outscored 47-33 over the last 17½ minutes.
The Grizzlies’ Mike Hemsley, who scored a game-high 30 points, and Adams State head coach Louis Wilson both received technical fouls with 12 minutes, 32 seconds remaining in the second half.
Tomsick made 3-of-4 free throws, but the Grizzlies gained an edge in physical toughness.
“The turning point might have been their technical foul,” Hofman said. “I thought the game really got physical after that, and that’s to their advantage.
“It was a very tough loss. ... We can’t worry about it; it was a good, hard-fought game.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
