FHSU had two chances to win it late in regulation. James Fleming was off the mark with six seconds remaining, but the ball went out of bounds off UCO, leaving 3.2 seconds. Off the in-bounds, Dom Samac found a lane to the basket but his layup was effected just enough by a foul committed by UCO to keep it from going in for the potential game-winner. Samac stepped to the line, missed the first, but collected himself after a UCO timeout to bury the second and force the extra period.
In a back-and-forth game, the Tigers trailed the majority of the second half after leading by three at halftime, 34-31. Central Oklahoma’s largest lead was seven points with 16:16 to go in the game, but FHSU chipped away constantly to trim the lead to one four times before taking a two-point lead with 8:02 remaining on a James Fleming three-point field goal.
UCO took control of the lead again at the 5:17 mark, but could not shake the Tigers down the stretch. Samac hit a jumper with 1:49to play to pull FHSU back within one. Neither team scored the next 1:48 leading up to the Samac free-throw with 0.2 seconds remaining.
After taking the lead with 3:42 remaining in overtime, UCO led the rest of the way. FHSU was still within three points with 1:13 to play, but a turnover and steal by UCO led to a breakaway layup by Mahlon Jones to make it five points. Jones went on to hit a pair of free-throws with 25 seconds remaining to push the score to the final margin of seven.
Samac led the Tigers with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and a 2-of-5 effort at the free-throw line. Tomislav Gabric had 11 points, while Jeremy Wilson and James Fleming each had 10. FHSU finished the game 38.5 percent from the field, while UCO shot 41.7 percent from the field. FHSU turned the ball over 16 times, which led to 22 points for UCO.
Mahlon Jones led UCO with a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds, hitting nine field goals and eight free-throws. Seth Heckart also reached double figures with 14 points and dished out nine assists.
FHSU is now tied for eighth in the MIAA standings with Washburn going into the final regular season game on Saturday at Northeastern State. FHSU needs to win and have Pittsburg State defeat Washburn Saturday evening in Topeka in order to host a first-round MIAA Tournament game on Monday (Mar. 2). If Washburn wins, the Ichabods will hold the tiebreak for eighth on FHSU and would host the Tigers. If the Tigers win and Ichabods lose, the Tigers will host the Ichabods.
Tipoff in Tahlequah, Okla., on Saturday will be at 3:30 p.m.