SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Fighting Leatherneck men's basketball squad dropped a hard fought, heartbreaking overtime thriller to the No. 2 South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 52-50, in the 2012 Summit League Championship game Tuesday evening in front of a sellout crowd in Sioux Falls.

With the win, SDSU will represent The Summit League in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, and the Jackrabbits improve their record to 27-7. Western concludes the tournament with a 2-1 record and stands 18-14 overall.

With 15 seconds left in regulation the Leathernecks had possession of the ball, but senior guard Ceola Clark III barely missed a leaner, and the game would head into overtime. Western jumped out to a 46-44 advantage early on, but SDSU's pair of three-pointers in the extra frame would prove to be too much for Western to overcome as the Leathernecks fell 52-50.

Senior guard Tommie Tyler, who was the only Leatherneck to finish in double figures, led all scorers in the game with 19, going 9-of-14 from the field. Four other Leathernecks scored in the game in junior forward Jack Houpt (9), junior forward Terell Parks (8), freshman forward Obi Emegano (8), and Clark (6). Parks finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.

Clark and Parks were each named to the All-Tournament team.

The Jackrabbits were led by Nate Wolters who finished with 14 points on 5-of-22 shooting, along with Griffan Callahan who tallied 10.

The Leathernecks were the first team on the board after Houpt swiped the ball from SDSU, and then sent it ahead to Tyler who finished with the slam dunk.

Parks then connected on a tough basket under the hoop, but the Jackrabbits responded with a 7-0 run heading into the first media time out of the game.

Three-point shots courtesy of Clark and Houpt would give the Leathernecks the lead back, 12-9, six minutes into the contest.

After the Jackrabbits knotted things up at 12, Clark hit his second from downtown to make it 15-12. But the Jackrabbits would maneuver their way back to a 16-15 lead midway through the half.

With five minutes remaining in the first, the two teams found themselves again knotted up, this time at 21.

Western trailed 24-23 with 2:25 left in the half, but a triple from Houpt, followed by a tough basket from Parks would give the Leathernecks a 28-24 lead at the break.

Houpt opened the second with his third three of the game and Western continued its 15-4 run that began at the end of the first-half. South Dakota State's Griffan Callahan then hit a three with 10:43 left in regulation cutting SDSU's deficit to seven, 38-31.

The Leathernecks would hold onto their seven-point advantage for the next five minutes as the two teams would go back and forth on the score board.

The Jackrabbits would put a 5-0 run together and make it 42-40 with five minutes remaining. Western's two-point lead would hold into the final minutes of regulation when the Leathernecks possessed the ball and called a timeout looking to add to their lead.

Western would miss its shot, and SDSU's Callahan would get fouled on the other end driving to the basket with 15 seconds left. He would knock down both of his free throws to tie it up at 44, and after Clark missed the potential game-winner, the game would head to overtime.

Just like regulation began, Tyler put one through the hoop with a one-handed slam to give Western the early edge. SDSU responded quickly, and after Parks put the Leathernecks back up two, SDSU's Chad White hit a three to put the Jackrabbits up 49-48 with 2:39 remaining in overtime.

On Western's next possession, Clark found Emegano on an inbound play for two points, but SDSU's Callahan connected on his second triple of the game which turned out to be the deciding basket, making it 52-50, where the score would stand.

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