The men’s basketball game on Feb. 27 ended like a scene from a movie — a buzzer beating 3-pointer from a Mountain Lion that won the game by 1 point.
UCCS was down, 57-54, with 16 seconds left in the game. Senior guard Hannes Saar was fouled by Colorado School of Mines player Alex Romack, giving Saar two free throws. Saar made the first but missed the second.
The second free throw was rebounded by Oredigger Riley Schroeder who threw it for a half-court pass, where it was intercepted by sophomore point guard Xavier Martinez. Martinez passed it from halfcourt to graduate forward William Becker near the rim. Becker sent it to redshirt junior guard Jezza McKenzie in the left corner, who sent it back to a wide-open Martinez behind the 3-point line.
“I saw Jezza throw the ball,” Martinez said after the game. “I had a wide-open shot. Just relied on all my practice to knock it down.”
The 3-pointer put the Mountain Lions up by 1, 58-57, with 4 seconds remaining in the game. A time out was immediately called after the basket. When the players returned to the court, Mines tried to get a 3-pointer of their own, but it bounced off the backboard.
In just 16 seconds of play, the Mountain Lions clinched their spot in the RMAC Championship Tournament and gave 2025 RMAC regular season champion Colorado School of Mines their second defeat of the season.
Martinez said the team knew this game had major tournament implications. “Last year, we missed out on it … We didn’t have anything to lose this game. So, we just came out and balled all game,” he said.
With 13 minutes left in the second, a UCCS victory looked unlikely. The Mountain Lions were down by 14 when head coach Jeff Culver called a time out. Martinez said Culver told the team, “Lay down here and we’ll lose. We’re going to fight back.”
After the timeout, the Mountain Lions whittled down the Oredigger’s lead for victory to be within reach in the final 2 minutes.
After defeating the No. 1 seed, the Mountain Lions were beaten by the No. 2 seed Regis, 67-56, in their final regular season game on March 1.
No. 7 seed UCCS will face Regis again in the RMAC Championship Tournament Quarterfinals on March 3.
“We’re just preparing for the tournament. That’s the end goal,” Martinez said.
The winner of the RMAC tournament final will automatically receive an invitation to the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament in the South Central Region. The other selected teams will be announced on March 9 at 9 p.m.