MONMOUTH, Ore. – Humboldt State mounted a courageous comeback, clawing back from a 14-point deficit only to drop a 73-72 decision to Western Oregon in non-league basketball action Wednesday.

Key fouls calls came into play in the game's waning moment, first a non-whistle on a layup attempt by the Jacks' Keith Davis that would have extended HSU's lead to five points with 35 seconds remaining. Western Oregon got the last opportunity at the free throw line, tying the game on Blair Wheadon's drive and going ahead on his free throw with 2.5 seconds left.

A long shot by the Jacks' Zac Tiedeman fell off at the buzzer, as HSU fell to 1-2 on the season. Western Oregon improved to 3-0 with its third home victory.

"We're not living up to anybody's expectations, and that includes our own," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "We're not as good right now as anybody thinks we are, and we certainly aren't as good as we can become."

Brian Morris led HSU in scoring with 15 points, while Kyle Baxter added 14 and a team-high seven rebounds. Tiedeman scored 13 points and Kevin Atkins had 10 for HSU.

Matt Schmidt paced Western Oregon with 18 points, while Wheadon finished with 15. Rico Myles had 12 points, Mke McLaughlin 10 with 12 rebounds, and Kyle Long added 10 points for WOU.

After a rough first half, the Jacks had surged into the game with a 26-6 run to start the second half. Tiedeman found the range early in the second half after being held scoreless in the first half, hitting an open three to cut the Wolves' lead to 48-40 with 16:51 remaining.

With 14:10 showing on the clock, Elliot Babcock-Krenk hit a three to pull HSU within 52-47. Tiedeman's back-to-back threes trimmed it to 54-53, and Atkins gave HSU its first lead, 54-53 with a pair of free throws with just under 13 minutes remaining.

The Jacks couldn't get more than a four-point advantage, however, and Western Oregon grabbed the momentum back. Wheadon scored his team's final five points to preserve the win.

"It's difficult to hold a lead after coming back from so far down," Wood said. "We needed to keep ourselves out of that situation."

At the start, Morris utilized a short jumper to get the Jacks started, canning two in the game's fist three minutes. Schmidt countered from the corner, draining a pair of 3-pointers to give the Wolves a 14-11 lead.

Western Oregon stretched the lead to six points on Kyle Long's free throw before Baxter drove for a left-handed layin, and a free throw by Atkins trimmed it to three with 7:11 left in the opening half.

Defensive stops were rare for the Jacks, who shot 45 percent from the field themselves in the first half only watch the Wolves outdo them with a remarkable 65 percent effort. That allowed Western Oregon to stretch its advantage to double figures at 45-34 by halftime.

"We haven't demonstrated toughness yet," Wood said. "I'm disappointed at where we are, but I believe we can change that."

11/25/09 7:30 PM at New PE Building (Monmouth, Ore.)
At New PE Building (Monmouth, Ore.)
WOU 73, HUMBOLDT STATE 72
HUMBOLDT STATE (1-2)
Morris,Brian 7-10 1-2 15; Baxter,Kyle 6-10 1-3 14; Tiedeman,Zac 5-10 0-0 13;
Atkins,Kevin 3-8 4-6 10; Davis,Keith 3-6 1-2 7; Spada,Ernie 2-7 0-0 6;
Babcock-Krenk,Elliot 1-2 1-2 4; Petty,Will 1-4 0-0 3; Stover,Matt 0-1 0-0 0;
Mathews,Colt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 8-15 72.
WOU (3-0)
Schmidt,Matt 7-13 2-2 18; Wheadon,Blair 5-12 4-5 15; Myles,Rico 4-7 4-4 12;
McLaughlin,Mike 4-7 2-2 10; Long,Kyle 4-10 1-2 10; Harris,Marcus 2-4 0-0 5;
Glynn,Tarance 1-2 1-2 3; Davis,Zach 0-0 0-0 0; Thrash,Gabe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
27-55 14-17 73.
Humboldt State................   34   38  -   72
WOU...........................   45   28  -   73
3-point goals--Humboldt State 8-25 (Tiedeman,Zac 3-7; Spada,Ernie 2-7;
Babcock-Krenk,Elliot 1-1; Baxter,Kyle 1-3; Petty,Will 1-4; Davis,Keith 0-1;
Atkins,Kevin 0-2), WOU 5-17 (Schmidt,Matt 2-5; Wheadon,Blair 1-6;
Harris,Marcus 1-3; Long,Kyle 1-3). Fouled out--Humboldt State-None,
WOU-None. Rebounds--Humboldt State 27 (Baxter,Kyle 7), WOU 35
(McLaughlin,Mike 12). Assists--Humboldt State 14 (Tiedeman,Zac 7), WOU 14
(Myles,Rico 3; McLaughlin,Mike 3; Schmidt,Matt 3). Total fouls--Humboldt
State 17, WOU 13. Technical fouls--Humboldt State-None, WOU-None. A-315