Warriors' Second-Half Struggles Result in OT Loss

For the third time this season, the Westcliff men's basketball team has gone past 40 minutes of play into overtime.

On Thursday night, the Warriors found themselves in a tough situation against UC Merced after giving up a 15-point lead that resulted in an OT loss 67-63.

The Warriors had gone 1-1 in their previous OT encounters this season, but this one felt different.

They played well throughout the first half and started to extend their lead with five minutes left.

The Warriors finished the first half on a 16-7 run as they looked in full control of the ball game and went into the locker room leading 36-21.

But in sports, you have to play every single second of every single minute because they are always unpredictable.

Westcliff started the second half fine and it wasn't until the seven-minute mark that UC Merced made their move and caught up.

The Bobcats would go on a 9-3 run in the next few minutes, continuously applying more pressure on the Warriors.

With one minute left of regulation, Westcliff was still up 55-49. But that six-point lead did not feel sufficient the way they had been playing down the stretch.

Mistakes on the defensive end and lack of communication allowed UC Merced to come back and even up the score as time ran out.

Fouls in OT by the Warriors allowed the Bobcats to get easy points and take a five-point lead with 15 seconds left to play.

Westcliff wasn't able to close out another game which they led as they fell to the fifth spot in the conference.

They now have an (8-8) overall record and a (7-6) conference record.

The Warriors still have time to catch up and make up for the recent losses, as the second seed is still within reach.

But this will require them to finish the season with a really strong push against tough competition.

Up next the Warriors will visit Simpson University on Saturday, Feb. 4, tip-off will be at 7:30 PM.