TURLOCK -- Despite losing five times through the first 12 games of the conference season, Cal State Stanislaus remained in control of its own destiny entering Friday night's game against Humboldt State.
But 21 offensive rebounds, a few too many turnovers and just enough missed free throws later, the Warriors saw that control slip away.
Humboldt State, one of five teams sharing the California Collegiate Athletic Association lead with four losses, outscored Stanislaus 9-1 in the final 2 minutes, 18 seconds to trip-up the Warriors 85-81 in double overtime.
Stanislaus fell to 11-6 overall, 7-6 in the CCAA, while the Lumberjacks held onto their share of the conference lead at 13-4 overall, 9-4 in league.
"Everybody is beating everybody, so there is a big clump of teams looking to separate themselves from the rest of the pack," said Warriors coach Larry Reynolds. "That's the way the league is going, so you just have to stay tough and win games.
"It's all a matter of first getting into the (eight-team) conference tournament and then trying to get a first-round home game and then see what you can do after that. But this puts us two behind the pack."
The CCAA plays an absurd 24 conference games, so there's still ample time for Stanislaus to get hot and finish in a top-four position that would give them a home game in the conference tournament — something the program never has achieved.
But this loss to Humboldt not only was painful in the way it played out — Stanislaus had a 14-point lead early in the second half and a six-point lead early in the second overtime — but crippling since the Warriors now must win regularly on the road to have a chance.
"It's always tough to lose a game like this, but we think we can compete with anybody in this league," said sophomore guard Sam Marcus. "We think we came be near the top of the league at the end of the season and we're not giving up hope."
Humboldt had the last possession at the end of regulation and again at the end of overtime, but failed both times to hit the game-winners.
Stanislaus almost stole the win when Marcus rimmed-out a halfcourt shot to end the first overtime, but Warriors Clinton Tremelling and Brett Sayad both hit 3-pointers as Stanislaus took a 76-70 lead in the opening minute of the second extra session.
The Warriors would get only one more field goal the rest of the way, while the Lumberjacks got 10 points in a 2:30 span from Kyle Baxter, including a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left that gave them an 82-80 lead.
Reggie Jones led Stanislaus with 21 points and went 11-of-14 from the line. His first miss came with 31 seconds left in regulation, his second with 26 seconds left in the first overtime, and the last with 14 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
The latter miss forced the Warriors to foul, and Bryan Austin sank two free throws with 13 seconds left for an 84-81 Humboldt lead. The final Stanislaus shot was a 3-pointer from Sayad, who scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but it barely caught iron under heavy pressure with 3.1 seconds left.
The downfall this night was on the boards. The Warriors were outrebounded only 44-39, but Humboldt turned 21 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points.
The Lumberjacks also had a distinct bench advantage. When Stanislaus built a 40-26 lead five minutes into the second half, Humboldt continued to throw fresh players on the court. Three Lumberjacks fouled out, but Humboldt got into the bonus less than eight minutes into the second half, which allowed them the luxury of getting back into the game at the foul line.
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