DURANGO, Colo. - #22 Colorado School of Mines survived a furious comeback by #11 Fort Lewis, taking control of the RMAC title race with a 94-82 overtime road win.

The Orediggers (21-4, 16-3 RMAC) saw a 15-point lead with 6:25 left in regulation evaporate as the Skyhawks (22-4, 17-3 RMAC) came alive in the closing moments and pounced on poor Mines free throw shooting to force overtime.

The win gives Mines control of its own destiny in the RMAC title hunt, as they now sit a half-game behind Fort Lewis for first place with a game in hand. 

Caleb Waitsman made his return to the court to notch a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double off the bench, and Ben Clare also had a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards as Mines' post play carried them. Joshua Blaylock had an outstanding game with 35 points for the Skyhawks.

Leading 63-49 with 6:25 to go, Fort Lewis outscored Mines 25-10 over the balance of regulation to force extra time. It started with a 12-2 run that included six Rasmus Bach points, but Mines re-established a seven-point lead with a Waitsman and-one at the 1:37 mark. A Blaylock second-chance bucket cut the lead to 74-69 at a minute to go, and he hit a three-pointer 40 seconds later to make it 74-72. Mines had a chance to ice it at the line but Gokul Natesan missed both free throw chances, and Blaylock made both of his tries at the other end to tie it with 11 seconds remaining. A Natesan look for three at the buzzer missed to send the game to overtime.

Mines never trailed in the extra period as a Sonnefeld free throw and Schroepfer hook shot put them up 77-74 to start, and a 7-0 run that included four straight Sonnefeld foul shots put Mines firmly in control up 84-76 with a minute to go. As poor as Mines had been at the line in regulation, they made up for it in overtime as Sonnefeld, Waitsman, Schroepfer, and Zach Rusk combined to go 12-of-14 in the final minute to secure the win.

NOTABLES
- Mines' win snapped a 30-game home win streak for Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks last lost in Durango on Feb. 14, 2015 to UCCS. It was Mines' first win over FLC since 2013-14, and first win in Durango since 2011-12.
- If both teams win out, they would tie for the RMAC regular-season title but Mines would own the tiebreak for the RMAC Tournament's #1 seed. Mines has three games left to play, Fort Lewis two.
- Mines had a season-high seven players score in double digits. In addition to Waitsman and Clare, Mines had Ben Sonnefeld (12), Gokul Natesan (12), Luke Schroepfer (10), and Adam Laine (10) in double figures.
- Mines had an uncharacteristically poor night at the line, shooting 29-of-45 (64.4 percent).
- Three-point shooting was key for Fort Lewis as they drained 11 of 25 tries compared to 5-of-15 for Mines. Mines shot 48.4 percent from the floor overall while holding FLC to 39.7 percent.
- Waitsman appeared for the first time in over a month and notched his 13th career double-double. Clare's double-double was his fourth in the last eight games.
- Mines' four post players dominated as the Orediggers outscored FLC in the paint 38-22. Bench production was also huge as Mines owned a 42-11 advantage, led by Waitsman, Rusk, and Laine.

NEXT UP
Mines heads to New Mexico Highlands Saturday for a 7 p.m. start.