La Crosse, Wis. – The Viterbo University men's basketball team found themselves in overtime for the second straight game but this time they were unable to pull off the heroics. The V-Hawks fell 70-69 in overtime to St. Ambrose University.

Trailing 60-50 with just under three minutes remaining in regulation, the V-Hawks of Viterbo University turned up the defense. Redshirt sophomore Matt Turba (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) hit a jumper to cut it to 60-52 and the V-Hawks would force turnovers on the Bees next two possessions. Izac Sheforgen (Jr./So. – St. Francis, Minn.) turned one of the turnovers into a jumper and Cole Lewis  (So. – Prairie du Chien) would hit two free throws on the next turnover. Viterbo then got another defensive stop and Lewis cut the deficit to 60-58 with 1:02 left in regulation. St. Ambrose would hit 4 of their next 6 free throws as they took a 64-60 lead with 11 seconds left. Sheforgen would hit a quick three-pointer with seven seconds left and Justin Blondell would hit two free throws for the Bees as they led 66-63 with four seconds left. After a Viterbo timeout, the V-Hawks had one magical shot left as redshirt freshman Jordan Laufenberg (Sparta, Wis.) hit a game tying three-pointer from 10 feet behind the three-point line to force overtime.

In the extra period, neither team was really able to get any offensive scoring chances. The Bees scored on their opening possession and then added another bucket with 2:42 left in the game. Junior Alex Koeller (Marshall, Wis.) cut the deficit to two with 2:22 left. Sheforgen would then have a chance to tie the game at 70 but would hit only 1 of 2 free throws with 1:04 on the clock. Chris Donnelly then missed two free throws with 33 seconds left to leave the door open. The V-Hawks would hold the ball until taking a timeout with 5 seconds left. Sheforgen would take the inbounds pass at half court and drive the lane and take an off balance jumper that was blocked by Donnelly to end the game.

Sheforgen led the offense for the V-Hawks as he finished with a game high 21 points. Lewis and Laufenberg joined Sheforgen in double figures with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Turba had an impressive all around game as well for the V-Hawks as he finished with 8 points, 8 assists, and 5 steals. Mike Kennedy led the Bees with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

After shooting just 10-30 (33.3%) from the floor in the first half, the V-Hawks shot much better in the second half (15-27) to finish 26-61 (42.6%). St. Ambrose finished the game 23-44 (52.3%) and had a 37-27 advantage on the boards. The V-Hawk defense did however force 23 turnovers which they were able to turn into 25 points.

The loss drops the V-Hawks to 8-12 overall and 3-5 in Midwest Collegiate Conference action. The Bees improve to 12-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Viterbo will be in action next when they travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday to play the Mustangs of Mount Mercy University. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 pm.