GOLDEN, Colo. – Heartbreaker may not do it justice.
 
After leading for the first 30 minutes of the game, Tarleton and Fort Lewis got knotted up in a 61-61 deadlock before the final nine minutes played out to be a picture-perfect definition of the phrase "March Madness" before the Texans fell in overtime 94-90 to Fort Lewis College at Lockridge Arena Saturday night.
 
A Fort Lewis layup with 9:24 left in the second half started a back-and-forth run that saw five lead changes over the next three minutes before the Skyhawks turned the fifth lead change into an 8-0 run to put them up 75-68 with four minutes left in regulation.
 
Tarleton stormed back, however, led by the senior heroics of Chantz Chambers.
 
In his final game for the purple and white, Chambers scored the next nine Tarleton points to pull the Texans within one heading into the final two minutes.
 
The teams traded a pair of points to keep Fort Lewis on top by one into the final minute. After Tarleton forced a turnover, Romond Jenkins pulled down one of his 11 rebounds on the night and was fouled with 40 seconds left and the Texans trailing by one.
 
A lane violation on Fort Lewis proved costly during the free throws and Jenkins tied the game at 80-80 with 40 seconds left. Fort Lewis' Joshua Blaylock jacked up a deep three that back-rimmed out of bounds in Fort Lewis' favor to give the Skyhawks one final shot in regulation, but Tarleton's Nosa Ebomwonyi disrupted the final shot to force overtime and extend Tarleton's season.
 
In overtime, the team's traded points and stayed tied through 90-90 into the final 30 seconds, but fouls sent Fort Lewis to the free throw line where the Skyhawks went 4-for-4 in the final 30 seconds to pull away.
 
"I was proud of our guys because they never gave up," said head coach Lonn Reisman. "We've been in so many of these games in my career and games like this come down to one shot or one play in a game. Chantz brought the ball down and took his shot, after he worked his butt off all night long, and tonight we were just one shot away.
 
"These two seniors (Chambers and Jenkins) have been in a lot of big ball games in their careers," he continued. "They have a lot to be thankful for. They've played in regional championships, an Elite Eight game, and been to two NCAA tournaments. They've represented us in a tremendous way and I can't say anything more about them. Just look at the stat sheet. Romond had 26 points and 11 rebounds. Chantz had 32 points. It just comes down to one shot sometimes."
 
Tarleton's seniors – Chambers and Jenkins – combined for 58 points Saturday night as Chambers scored 32 and Jenkins went for 26 points and 11 rebounds in his Tarleton swan song. Ridell Camidge delivered 11 points off the bench for Tarleton while Anthony Davis (8), Nosa Ebomwonyi (6), Deshawn Riddick (4), and Jacob Morales (3) rounded out the scoring for Tarleton.
 
Ebomwonyi was second on the team behind Jenkins with nine rebounds while Chambers grabbed six boards. Riddick led the team with seven assists.
 
This was Tarleton's 14^th trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament in the last 16 seasons, including the eighth straight season. The Texans finished the year with a record of 22-8.
 
"We'll take some time to recover mentally and then we'll get back to work," said Reisman. "We have a lot to be thankful for. We put a lot of effort into this and our guys played hard and gave it everything they had. As a coach, that's all you can ask of student-athletes is to give you all that they have. I have a great coaching staff alongside me who also gives everything they have. Congrats to Fort Lewis. They played a great game."