Three hard-fought games and three excruciating losses.
To put it simply, Carson High's boys' basketball teams has had trouble finishing games against Damonte Ranch, and Saturday night was the latest setback.
After Carson's Chris Lopez's clutch 3-pointer with 2.3 left sent the game into overtime, the Mustangs made 13 of 14 free throws in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the extra period to record a 63-56 win over Carson at Morse Burley Gym.
The loss dropped Carson to 1-8 entering its toughest week of the season with road games at Hug and Galena on Tusday and Wednesday, and a home game against arch-rival Douglas on Friday. Damonte improved to 6-3 and faces Douglas on Monday.
"It's encouraging," Carson coach Carlos Mendeguia said. "The kids are working hard everyday. Our goal is to get better everyday."
It also has to be frustrating for Mendeguia, whose team had two other opportunities to tie or win the contest in regulation after wiping out a 9-point Damonte lead in the final 3 minutes 42 seconds.
Trailing 47-45 with 57.5 left after two free throws by Lopez, Carson pressured Justin Bridgman, forcing the Damonte guard to call timeout with 41.6 left. Lopez got a steal at midcourt, but Rafe King missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key with 15 second left.
After another Damonte turnover, Carson called timeout with 12.9 left. The Senators promptly turned the ball over when Sage Smith's pass went through the hands of Lopez.
"I should have caught the ball," said Lopez, who had a career-high 14 points. "I don't really know what happened. Maybe I turned before the ball got there."
Damonte's Nick Solano made it 48-45 with 10.8 left when he made the first of two free throws. He missed the second one, and Carson moved the ball upcourt and into the hands of Lopez, who knocked down the biggest shot to date of his high school career.
"I knew how much time I was left," Lopez said. "I shot it confidently."
Lopez scored the team's first basket in overtime, tying the game at 50 with 3:28 left. Carson didn't score for nearly 2 1/2 minutes, as the Mustangs' John Carlson and O'Keefe Hall combined for seven free throws an a 57-50 lead with 1:22 left.
King, who led Carson with 20 points, drained his last 3-pointer of the game to make it 57-53, but four straight free throws in the next 30 seconds was too much to overcome.
Damonte coach Torrey Sheets was happy to get the win. He knows how tough it is to beat the same team three times in the season. He was overjoyed to escape Carson with a big road win.
"We got a little tight," Sheets said. "It's tough to play them here. We've had three tight games with them, and two of them went to overtime. Part of it is what they're doing."
While it appeared there were times when Damonte could have slowed the game down near the end of regulation, Sheets said he liked the fact his team stayed aggressive down the stretch despite the five turnovers in the last 3 1/2 minutes.
Sheets was happy with his team's defense on King, Carson's leading scorer. Sheets put 6-6 John Carlson on King, and the Carson star went 6-for-22 from the field and had at least three shots blocked.
"John is long," Sheets said. "They try to run a lot of stuff for him. He got his hands on a few balls and forced him to change his shot a few times."
"It was a good move," Mendeguia said. "Carlson is long, and he's also a good defender."
Carlson finished with 12 points, while Jeff Turk led all scorers with 24. Hall added 12.
