Nick Tomsick’s clutch free throws forced overtime, then Fort Lewis College outscored the Adams State men’s basketball team 14-10 in the extra frame for a 97-93 victory Saturday in Alamosa.
A back-and-forth battle saw Jaree Crawford’s free throw put the Grizzlies up 83-81 with 5 seconds to play. Tomsick stormed down the court and was fouled with 0.7 seconds left, and he calmly buried both attempts to square the contest.
“They were big,” FLC head coach Bob Hofman said of the free throws.
Adams State (3-3, 0-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) opened the scoring in overtime, but FLC rallied to lead 96-93 with about a minute to play when Alex Herrera’s big offensive rebound allowed the Skyhawks to take more time off the clock.
Tomsick had his shot blocked on the ensuing possession, but Herrera knocked away Justin Kauffman’s attempt at a game-tying 3, and Tomsick secured the rebound and hit one of his two free-throw attempts with less than 5 seconds to play to seal the deal.
The Skyhawks (5-2, 2-1 RMAC) broke out in a big way after halftime, scoring 63 points in the last 25 minutes of the game after trailing 39-34 at the break. The bench played a big part in the rally, helping lift FLC to a 59-58 lead at the under-10 media timeout.
Tomsick, who also had a key 3 to keep the game close in OT with Adams State up five, led the way offensively for FLC, scoring 25 points. Herrera scored 20, including 12 from the free-throw line.
The bench was critical all night for FLC, with Mike Matthews scoring 17 and Cade Kloster 10, while Jared Smith hit a big 3 in overtime to go alongside quality contributions from Oscar Garcia, Will Morse and Kody Salcido.
“The 12 players that played ... just a full contribution,” said Hofman, who also credited the women’s basketball team seated behind the FLC bench.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
