Sunday’s Fort Lewis College men’s basketball game was a repeat of Saturday night.
Another tough defensive game against a school from South Dakota. Another stellar first half for the Skyhawks. Another second-half collapse in a close game. Another overtime period. Another loss.
One night after a 76-67 overtime loss to South Dakota Mines, FLC fell 70-66 in overtime to Black Hills State University. FLC led 33-21 at halftime but saw that lead dissolve to 35-34 early in the second half after a cold start to the half.
FLC had to work hard to force overtime and had a golden opportunity to take a five-point lead with a little more than two minutes to go in the extra five minutes. FLC senior Alex Semadeni blocked a Tyler Oliver desperation 3-point try with the shot clock winding down, and Semadeni picked up the ball and was fouled with a clear path to the basket. After the whistle, Oliver kept trying to go for the ball and took down Semadeni, and that led to a technical foul. Oliver fouled out, Semadeni went into the small FLC student section to pump up the crowd, and FLC had a chance to shoot four free throws and get the ball back out of bounds after going into the possession down 63-62.
Semadeni made all four free throws but then missed a layup that led to a transition 3-point basket for Black Hills’ Fraser Malcolm to tie the game at 66-66.
The Skyhawks couldn’t find a basket the rest of the way, and Malcolm added a key layup as he blew past the defense of FLC senior Otas Iyekekpolor. Will Wittman and Cesar Molina both missed 3-point shots in the final minute, and FLC’s fate was sealed for a second consecutive night.
The loss dropped FLC to 5-5 overall and 1-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with three conference losses in overtime. FLC has lost at home inside Whalen Gymnasium only four times the last three seasons, and three have been in overtime.
“We just haven’t had much luck go our way,” FLC head coach Bob Pietrack said. “Credit our guys, I thought they played really hard and were ready for a good fight.
“We’ve had a really rocky first semester. Anything that can go wrong has, so we’ve been pretty snakebit. We’ve had major injuries, we’ve had some guys leave our program, and we have three overtime losses and another loss by four points. So, it just is what it is right now.”
Oliver finished with 21 points for Black Hills State, and he added nine rebounds before he fouled out in overtime. Semadeni also had 21 points and seven rebounds for FLC one night after he took only four shots and finished with four points.
FLC was hurt by the loss of Marquel Beasley, who fouled out on a charging violation with 1:02 to play in regulation. Point guard A.J. Sparks also fouled out early in overtime after he was outmatched in the post guarding Oliver and tried to fight over his back for position.
Beasley finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while Sparks added 12 points, all of which came in the second half.
Malcolm finished with 16 points and six rebounds, and Connor O’Hearn came up big with 13 points on 4-of-6 made 3-pointers for Black Hills.
“Marquel was out of there quick and then we lost A.J., and that was really hard,” Pietrack said. “We had an opportunity to go up five on a layup, and it just rimmed out, and then they got that transition 3, and that flipped the game. We were just on the brink of getting the game.
“They shot the ball pretty well and made big shots, and Malcolm’s 3 in overtime to tie it, that’s a huge shot. Playing without Sparks and Beasley at the end, we weren’t very good offensively in that overtime.”
Black Hills took a 58-55 lead with two free throws with 21.2 seconds to go in overtime. FLC answered back when Kireed Johnson was fouled in the corner as he attempted a 3-point shot. Johnson made all three free throws for his only points of the game. Black Hills held the ball for a final Oliver 3-point try in regulation, and it was no good.
Black Hills improved to 6-3 overall and is tied with Colorado School of Mines atop the conference standings at 5-0.
“The first half, we just struggled to score,” Black Hills head coach Ryan Thompson said in a postgame radio interview. “They came out and played really well and took it to us, and we struggled to make shots. The second half, we continued to compete. At the end of the day, our guys stepped up in big moments. I can’t say enough about our team.”
FLC will get time off for winter break and return to the court at 3 p.m. Dec. 31 at home against Northern New Mexico. FLC faces the remainder of the season without junior forward Riley Farris, who is out with an injured shoulder. Senior guard Mike Ranson also quit the program earlier in the week, and junior college recruit Dwayne McNutt, who averaged 23.2 points per game at Prairie State College in Illinois last year, left FLC after never playing a game for the Skyhawks.
“Our guys are very unified and together,” Pietrack said. “Although we’re in a giant hole in the RMAC at 1-4, there’s gonna be some really good moments in the second half of the season for our guys. Life’s humbling, sports is humbling, competition is humbling. I do know we will take the break and come back and be a very competitive, hard-playing basketball team. I know how much the coaches love the players and how much the players love the coaches. We’ll keep sticking it out. As we keep going, I think luck will come on our side a little bit.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
