Box Score

 

Joshua Blaylock made two free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining to lift #8 Fort Lewis over Colorado School of Mines, 73-72, in the RMAC Shootout title game in Durango.

The Skyhawks' win negated a gutsy Oredigger comeback as they erased what had been a 12-point deficit with 6:16 left to play to take the lead in the final seconds. Mines (23-7) will hope to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced Sunday night.

Down 68-56 after Blaylock's three-pointer at the 6:16 mark, Mines embarked on a 13-0 run to take the lead, keyed by six Caleb Waitsman points and Kaan Korkmaz's bank-in layup with 1:52 remaining to take the lead. Blaylock hit another three seconds later to retake the lead, but foul shots by Korkmaz and Waitsman - the latter with nine seconds to go - gave Mines the lead at 72-71. Blaylock was fouled in the paint with 0.7 seconds remaining, and hit both to win it for the Skyhawks.

It was an appropriately wild ending for a hard-fought game that saw Mines withstand a barrage of first-half three-pointers from Fort Lewis to trail by only two at halftime. FLC shot an eye-popping eight threes in the first half, but the Orediggers ended it with one of their own from Waitsman to trail 38-36.

Several times in the second half the Skyhawks threatened to pull away with it, first when Blaylock's jumper put them up 10 before a 6-0 Mines run brought it back mid-half. Two Adam Laine foul shots got it within five before back-to-back threes from Jared Smith and Austin Haldorson put the lead back to double digits with 8:50 to go. The Orediggers kept scrapping, led by Waitsman's 10 second-half points and seven each from Joe Dellenbach and Korkmaz, to give themselves a chance at the end.

NOTABLES

• Waitsman and Gokul Natesan each ended up with 17 points and nine rebounds. Natesan tied his career-high in rebounding. Both men were named to the all-Tournament team.

• Adam Laine provided 13 points off the bench.

• Blaylock ended with a game-high 25.

• The loss snapped Mines' 12-game win streak.

• Fort Lewis sank 13 three-pointers to Mines' four, but Mines dominated the rebounding 37-28 to keep them in it.

• Fort Lewis swept all three games over Mines this season, but this game was by far the closest after setbacks of 64-53 and 76-59.

• It was Mines' first RMAC Shootout title game appearance since 2012.

QUOTABLES
"I'm super proud of our players and our team for being resilient... That's how games go sometimes." - Head Coach Pryor Orser

NEXT UP
Mines will learn if their season will be extended Sunday night when the NCAA Selection Show airs live at 8:30 p.m. MST on NCAA.com. Mines came into the week ranked fifth in the regional rankings, with the top eight schools earning bids.