Lawrence, sporting a 12-point lead, failed to score for the final 4:58 of regulation and then got only two points in overtime in an 86-77 loss to Illinois College at Darby Gymnasium. The Blueboys advance to face either Ripon College or Grinnell College in Saturday's 3:00 p.m. title game.
Drew Petefish and Garrett Ingram scored 18 points apiece to lead Illinois College (14-10). Dylan Dudley added 17 and Chad Tobin had 13 for the Blueboys. Chris Braier paced Lawrence (18-6) with 14 points and 12 rebounds, his 12th double-double of the season. Kyle MacGillis and Chris MacGillis added 13 points apiece and Kevin Cooper had 10.
Poor free-throw shooting, which has plagued the Vikings at key times this season, was again the culprit. Lawrence could have closed the Blueboys out in regulation but shot 10 of 23 from the line for the game.
Lawrence seemingly took control of the contest when the Vikings went on a 6-0 run to grab a 70-56 advantage with 6:18 left. Illinois College trimmed the advantage to 70-61 on Petefish's three-point play with 5:22 left.
The Vikings weathered that small storm and grabbed a 12-point edge on Kyle MacGillis' 3-pointer with 4:58 remaining. Illinois College then went on a 12-0 run, with Petefish hitting a pair of 3-pointers in that stretch. Ingram's layup with 1:49 remaining tied the game at 75-75.
The teams then went cold, trading turnovers and missed shots. Petefish missed a long 3-pointer, and Lawrence grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 32.2 seconds left. With the shot clock running down, Rob Nenahlo's layup was blocked by Ingram, but the Blueboys turned the ball over with 3.4 seconds remaining. Nenahlo missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won it in regulation.
Illinois College scored the first five points of overtime to grab an 80-75 lead before Braier finally broke the drought for Lawrence. His short jumper with 2:31 remaining in the extra period snapped a scoreless stretch of 7:27 and trimmed the lead to 80-77.
Lawrence then missed three consecutive 3-pointers, and Illinois College hit six consecutive free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Lawrence had trailed early, down 16-6 with 14:21 left in the first half. Lawrence went on a 20-5 run to take a 26-21 lead with 8:28 left in the first half. The Vikings led 44-37 at the half.