Box Score

ALAMOSA, Colo. — Mike Matthews hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime as Fort Lewis (16-11) upset Adams State 77-73 tonight in Plachy Hall in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout.

“We haven't had a lot of luck all year, and I think we got lucky tonight,” said 16th-year FLC head coach Bob Hofman. “They missed some shots they've made all year. We'll take it.”

The Skyhawks took a 3-0 lead when Matt Billups hit a three-pointer on the game's first possession, then played back-and-forth basketball with the Grizzlies for the next nine minutes. A dunk by Jack Osborn put ASC in front 16-14 and the RMAC's third place finisher in the regular season held the lead until late in regulation.

Adams State led by double digits for most of the second half before the Skyhawks started to claw their way back into the game in the last six minutes. First, Matthew Mazarei hit two free throws with 5:46 remaining to trim the lead to 60-52. Billups added a jumper. Josh Cassaday tipped in a Matthews miss to cut the margin to 60-56 with 4:53 left in regulation. After two free throws by ASC's Deray Wilson, Matt Morris answered with a pair of free throws of his own and Cassaday followed with a jumper in the paint. Two more Morris foul shots leveled the score at 62 with 2:38 left on the clock.

A Wilson three-pointer with 1:40 remaining put ASC back on top, 67-64 and the Skyhawks failed to trim the lead in the next three possessions. Adams State kept missing the front ends of one-and-ones, though, the last being a miss by Jamiko Verner that Mazarei rebounded with four seconds left. He rushed the ball up the court and found Matthews open for the desperation trey to knot the score at 67-67 at the regulation buzzer.

The teams traded free throws for the first half of overtime before Marcus Ayala put FLC on top for good with a jumper in the lane with 2:01 remaining. Fort Lewis twice led by three points in overtime, but couldn't extend their lead to a two-possession game.

With FLC on top 75-72, Marqus Richards hit one of two free throws with 13 ticks left on the clock. Wilson rebounded the second and, after a dead ball, was wide open for a three-pointer that could have won it for the Grizzlies. His shot missed and Ayala came up with the rebound with three-tenths of a second remaining. Ayala's two free throws made the final score 77-74.

“I'm very pleased with all of our seniors tonight,” said Hofman. “It was a great victory for our program because we struggled all year by our standards. I think we beat a great team tonight and I'm very proud of them.”

Billups, who was named to the All-RMAC third team earlier in the day, led the Skyhawks with 18 points, four assists, and four steals. Morris, a unanimous first team All-RMAC pick, notched his 13th double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but fouled out early in overtime.

Matthews (15 points) and Ayala (11) also scored in double digits for the Skyhawks.

The Grizzlies were led by Richards, who had 19 points, six rebounds, five steals, and three assists. Kaimyn Pruitt added 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Osborn had 12 points and seven boards.

Adams State outrebounded FLC 38-32 and manhandled the Skyhawks on the offensive glass, collecting 18 offensive caroms.

Fort Lewis hung in the game thanks to solid shooting — 49 percent from the field (29 of 51) and 82.1 percent from the charity stripe (23 of 28).

Adams State shot just 40.6 percent from the floor (26 of 64) and 65.4 percent from the line (17 of 26).

Both teams were 4-of-16 from behind the arc.

With the win, Fort Lewis avenged a couple of close losses to the hands of the Grizzlies. Adams State swept FLC this season, but both games came down to the wire. The Grizzlies won 67-62 in Alamosa on Dec. 10 and 70-69 in Durango on Jan. 28.

Fort Lewis gets a chance to defend its 2011 RMAC Shootout title and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs that accompanies it. The Skyhawks face archrival Colorado Mesa (15-12) in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Colorado State Fair Events Center in Pueblo. The Mavericks upset 12th-ranked Metro State 67-63 tonight in Denver.

“Here we go again in Pueblo. It should be fun,” said Hofman.

Fort Lewis and Colorado Mesa split their games in 2011-12, with each holding serve on their home courts. The Mavs beat FLC 69-53 in Grand Junction on Dec. 16, while the Skyhawks beat CMU 61-50 in Durango last Saturday.