GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands Owen Larson missed a potential game-tying free throw with one second remaining as the South Dakota State Jackrabbits fell to Boise State 83-82 in the semifinals of the Cayman Islands Classic on Monday afternoon.
The outcome was a disappointing one for the Jackrabbits, who fell to 5-2 on the season and will face Missouri State in the third-place game of the classic on Tuesday. But SDSU head coach Eric Henderson emphasized his teams growth against a viable mid-major opponent.
Im just really proud of our guys, Henderson said. Obviously the outcome isnt what we wanted, but were not an outcome-based program. Of course we want to win every game we play, but its a process for us and if we can learn and get better from it, were going to take that.
The opening half carried a surprise for the Jacks as Boise State used a barrage from downtown to fuel a 7-0 run that ended with a Javan Buchanan 3-pointer that gave the Broncos a 25-18 lead with 10:50 until halftime. Boise State knocked down seven 3-pointers in the first half after averaging just five as a team entering Mondays game and it helped the Broncos lead by as many as eight points when Tyson Degenharts layup put Boise State ahead 30-22.
But SDSU fought back with a 14-7 run that closed the lead to 40-39 on Joe Saylers 3-pointer with 1:59 left in the opening frame and went into halftime trailing 44-42. The Jacks took a 45-44 lead on a Matthew Mors 3-pointer to open the second half but couldnt pull away as Boise State tied the game on a Buchanan 3-pointer with 15:12 remaining and took the lead on Alvaro Cardenas layup with 14:33 to go.
Both teams remained within a possession as a pair of Degenhart free throws gave the Broncos a 66-65 lead midway through the second half and a 6-0 spurt helped the Broncos lead 71-66 after another Buchanan 3-pointer put the Broncos up 71-66 with 7:42 to play.
The game came down to the wire as a Sayler 3-pointer tied the game for the Jacks with 1:17 to go. Buchanan answered with a layup on the other end to give Boise State an 83-81 lead with 1:03 to play before Mors missed a jumper with 46 seconds to go.
Boise State whittled the clock down to 14 seconds before Degenhart missed a jumper in the paint and Oscar Cluff grabbed the rebound to spark a frantic sequence for the Jacks. The ball eventually landed in Larsons hands, who cut to the rim and drew a foul on Julian Bowie but after making the first free throw, Larson missed the second free throw to give the Broncos the win.
After the game, Henderson explained that he trusted his team to make the right play and that he typically uses his timeouts on the defensive end rather than offense, allowing his team to play through the final 14 seconds.
We wanted to let our guys play and theyre going to play through mistakes, especially early in the year, Henderson said. Were playing so many young guys and were fighting and theyre thinking. But were trying to get them not to think and just play really hard.
Henderson also pointed out the game was decided by more than just Larsons miss as the Jackrabbits were outrebounded 36-35 and the Broncos played a cleaner game.
I knew this game would be a really slim margin, Henderson said. We talked about rebounding and guess what? We lost the rebounding battle by one. You want to win the game. Guess what? We lost the game by one. We talked about 50/50 [balls] and we lost the 50/50s by one. So the margins between winning and losing are so minimal and thats really what I take away from this game. I want our guys to learn that. I want our guys to understand that this game doesnt come down to a free throw. This game comes down to many different things and our guys fought like crazy and Im really proud of that, but we just want to keep learning too.
Sayler and Cluff led the Jacks with 19 points each and Cluff added 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Kalen Garry added 13 points, five assists and four rebounds while Mors and Larson each scored nine points with Larson grabbing five rebounds.
Jaden Jackson had seven points while William Whorton added four points off the bench.
SDSU shot 45.9 percent from the floor including 8-for-19 (42.1%) on 3-pointers. The Jacks also made 18-of-25 (72%) free throws and committed six turnovers.
Buchanan led Boise State with 28 points while Cardenas added 16 points and seven assists. Bowie had 13 points and Tyson Degenhart added 11 points and seven assists.
The Broncos shot 47.5 percent from the floor including 12-for-29 (41.4%) on 3-pointers. Boise State made 13-of-14 free throws (92.9%) and committed nine turnovers.
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