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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Alex Semadeni
Brian Kortz, FLC Athletics
100
Winner Fort Lewis FLC 7-6 (2-5 RMAC)
88
Chadron St. CHMB 6-7 (4-3 RMAC)
Winner
Fort Lewis FLC
7-6 (2-5 RMAC)
100
Final
88
Chadron St. CHMB
6-7 (4-3 RMAC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Fort Lewis FLC 40 41 19 100
Chadron St. CHMB 30 51 7 88

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Brian Kortz

Semadeni’s Heroics Lifts Men’s Basketball to Big OT Win at Chadron State

CHADRON, Neb. – Alex Semadeni sure put his career-high 37 points to good use. Just when it looked like the Fort Lewis College men's basketball team was going to fall short by three, Semadeni collected the rebound, went into the corner and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. The Skyhawks carried the momentum from that big three right into overtime as FLC picked up the 100-88 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory over Chadron State Saturday night at the Chicoine Center.

"Just an unbelievable team win. We were due for some luck and I'm glad we all stuck together," Semadeni said. "We're a tough group, and we're not gonna ever back down."

Semadeni was on fire all game long, hitting 10-14 from the field, 5-5 from three and 12-14 from the foul line. He also added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in 42 minutes. Down six with 45 seconds to play, Semadeni came up with three big shots to send the game to overtime. First he took a pass from Kireed Johnson and drilled the three from the wing to cut the deficit to three. The Skyhawks then had to foul and Colby Jackson hit just one of two from the line leaving it a four-point game. As it turned out, that miss proved big. On the next possession, Wyatt Hayes drove the baseline and kicked it to Semadeni in the corner who sunk another triple leaving Chadron State with a 79-78 lead with 20 seconds to play.

After Jackson hit two from the foul line to move the lead back to three with 11 seconds to play, Semadeni refused to let the Skyhawks lose. After a missed three, the ball was loose and Semadeni grabbed the board. He had the wherewithal to run to the corner with time ticking down and he drilled the three-pointer from the opposite corner as the buzzer sounded pulling off the improbable comeback, tying the game at 81 and sending it into overtime.

"I don't really know what happened, I just crashed," Semadeni said, recalling the final play, rebound and tying three. "I was surrounded by people and tried to get out and just ran to the three-point line. Such a wild sequence."

It didn't take the Skyhawks (7-6, 2-5 RMAC) long to cash in to start overtime, as AJ Sparks drove the lane, hit the layup and was fouled. He would add the free throw to give FLC a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Brenden Boatwright would add a pair of baskets to push the lead to five and after the Eagles (6-7, 4-3 RMAC) fought back to within three, Semadeni salted the game away from the foul line. He hit two with 55 seconds remaining to go back in front by five and after the teams traded free throws, Semadeni would sink seven straight from the foul line following several fouls and technicals to seal the win.

FLC led a majority of the first half, as a Semadeni three nearly four minutes in helped spark an 7-0 run to push the Skyhawks in front the rest of the half. Otas Iyekekpolor added a jumper and then Semadeni closed the run he started with a jumper at the 15:09 mark for a 13-5 lead.

Chadron State fought back to tie at 22, but couldn't regain the lead as FLC closed the half on a 18-8 run for a 40-30 lead at the break. The Skyhawks used a 14-0 run to help break the tie with Johnson hitting a three, Will Wittman hit a pair of free throws, Sparks drilled a three, Semadeni then added another triple, Sparks closed the run with a three-point-play.

FLC remained in the lead until 5:49 to play in the game when a Diontae Champion layup gave the Eagles a 65-63 lead. The teams then traded leads until Chadron State took the late lead that Semadeni would erase.

Outside of Semadeni's career night, Sparks added 15 points, Marquel Beasley with 14 and Iyekekpolor with 13, as the Skyhawks ended up playing the overtime without both Beasley and Iyekekpolor who fouled out in regulation. The Skyhawks went 31-59 (53) from the field, 10-16 (63) from three and 28-39 (72) from the foul line.

Adoum Mbang led the Eagles with 21 points, Champion added 19 and Jackson tallied 14. Chadron State went 30-63 (48) from the field, 7-19 (37) from three and 21-30 (70) from the foul line.

FLC led on points off turnovers (15-14) and points in the paint (26-24).

The Skyhawks will now return home to start a four-game homestand beginning with UC-Colorado Springs on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. inside Whalen Gym.
 
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