“I thought we had it, 1.7 seconds left, we’re up three and someone just told me the guy who made the shot stepped out of bounds,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said. “I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I know there were several very close calls at the end and sometimes you’ve really got to catch a break to win a game like that.”

Larranaga said despite the close loss, he was proud of his team, which has played with a depleted roster all season. UM played with just seven scholarship players on Saturday.


“Both teams deserve a lot of credit, and I told the guys they should not put their heads down,” the coach said. “It’s very deflating to lose a game like that, but it was a strange ending if, in fact, the guy who made the game-tying shot was out of bounds. I’ll be very disappointed if I find out that was the violation.”