DENVER – Believe it or not, there's an even tougher way to lose a two-point game than what MSU Denver experienced Friday night.
First-place Black Hills State scored as the buzzer sounded to defeat the Roadrunners 77-75 on Saturday night.
"It was one of those games where whoever had the ball last was going to win," Bahl said. "They couldn't really stop us, and we couldn't really stop them. It was a high-level college basketball game. Both teams were making big-time plays. Unfortunately they had the ball last, and they made a nice play and won the game."
MSU Denver, upset by Chadron State on Friday, went toe-to-toe with the Yellow Jackets all night in a terrific game that included 22 lead changes and 13 ties. Neither team led by more than six points.
The last tie came with 27 seconds left, on a basket by MSU Denver's
Laolu Oke. Though Oke missed a free throw after being fouled on the play, Black Hills State had a chance to win regardless, and did as Sindou Cisse penetrated and made a nifty pass under the basket to Joel Scott, who hit an uncontested layup as the game clock expired.
"We know what we're capable of, but we've lost a couple of games this year that we probably shouldn't have," Bahl said. "This one was a toss-up, but the previous games we didn't take advantage of are the ones that magnify this one even more."
"Our kids played incredibly hard. They bounced back and responded from last night's tough game. We did a lot of really good things."
The defeat overshadowed a breakout performance by true freshman point guard
Keiren Brown, who had 16 points – six better than his previous career high.
"He's done a great job of buying into the process, and he's a really nice player," Bahl said. "We're lucky we can play him and Key (point guard
Keyshaad Dixon) together. I'm very happy for him. I'm sure he would have rather taken the win than the good night, but he's getting better and this is something to build off."
MSU Denver frequently used both Brown and Dixon in the post as they backed down shorter and more slender defenders for easy buckets.
"Not many people post with their guards, so it puts defenses in a difficult rotation," Dixon said. "They either leave you on a smaller player right next to the basket or make a hard rotation. It adds a different aspect to our game and we're both good at it."
The Roadrunners had five players score in double figures, and seven players scored at least seven.
Tyrei Randall scored 13 points, Oke and
Miles Gibson each had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Dixon scored 10.
Black Hills State, second in Division II in field goal percentage at 49.3 coming into the weekend, connected at a 56.6 percent clip for the game (30 of 53) and made 47.6 percent (10 of 21) from 3.
But MSU Denver hung in there by making 49.2 percent of its shots and turning 14 Black Hills State turnovers in 14 points, earning a 10-point advantage in that category while having only eight turnovers.
The Roadrunners made only 4 of 8 second-half free throws, however.
Black Hills State improved to 14-4 overall and 12-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while MSU Denver dropped to 13-6 and 7-6, good for seventh place.
Despite playing an excellent game against the league's best team, MSU Denver is taking no moral victories.
"A loss is a loss," Dixon said. "If we play terrible and win, it still feels better than losing. Both losses hurt.
"I honestly think we're the best team in the league. Wherever we go, I look across and I feel like we should win."
To that point, MSU Denver's last three losses have been by a combined seven points. Wins in those three – all one-possession games – and the Roadrunners would in third place just 1 ½ games behind a Regis team that would be in first.
"Our guys are dejected, just like you would expect," Bahl said. "They're disappointed. This one stings. And we have two really good teams coming in next weekend, but everything we want is still in front of us. Our guys are going to have to bounce back, but they've done a good job of that all season long."
Indeed, next weekend's home slate is tougher than this weekend's. Friday foe Colorado School of Mines has surged into a tie for fifth on the strength of a five-game winning streak, and Saturday opponent Regis is nationally ranked and is 16-2 overall and a half-game behind Black Hills State in the standings at 11-1.
"The marathon continues," Dixon said. "You've just got to bounce back and play. You're not always going to get the result you want, but it's a long season. You just have to keep playing and keep trying to get better. Let's get this out of the way now. I'd rather experience this now instead of later."
